Miguel Nicolelis a Monkey That Controls a

Miguel Nicolelis a Monkey that Controls a Robot With It's Thoughts. No, Really. The video concerns brain wave technology, as narrated by Miguel Nicolelis. The video begins with a brief introduction to the nature of what Mr. Nicolelis refers to as "brainstorms." Interestingly, he offers an audio representation of these brainstorms, with the claim that brainstorms constitute all that human beings do and are in a lifetime. Towards the more specific part of the talk Mr.

Nicolelis brings up the example of the monkey called Aurora, who has been used for brain experiments by a reward system. For the reward of juice, Aurora has been taught to play a computer game with a joystick. Later, the research extended to connecting Aurora's brain to a robotic arm, where she used only her thoughts to control the remote arm for successfully playing the game and receiving her reward.

Later still, the research was extended to the control of a virtual avatar, in which the primate could enter the virtual world and experience it via artificially connected senses. The conclusion from this is that the human brain can create extensions of the human body by incorporating external elements. The implications of this are important not only in terms of considering the technology we use to day as extensions of ourselves, but also in terms research to assist those with neurological damage causing paralysis.

Important Points Scientists have compared the number of brain cells we have to the number galaxies in the universe. The study of thought constitutes the study of the nature of all human beings. "Brain storms" define everything we have ever done and will ever do. Neuroscientists have developed various methods and interfaces for listening what Nicolelis refers to as "brain symphonies," including brain-machine interfaces.

With these methods, it has been found that it takes about half a second for a command from the brain to result in the movement of limbs. As an example of the applications of such research is a Monkey called Aurora, who has been taught to play computer games with a joystick. Ten years ago, she was also taught to control a robotic arm to play the same game just using her thought processes.

Aurora could also move a robot on the other side of the planet with just her thought processes. Later, this research was extended by means of a virtual avatar that primates could control with their thinking. This included sensory information transmitted back to the brain by touch. The implications of the research are highly important in terms of research to help people with neurological damage move again.

Application In applying the video to the course, I think the most important idea in this video is the one that Miguel Nicolelis ends with:.