Lifeboat Foundation

Interesting research paper on motor cortex-based brain-computer interface (BCI) research conducted by researchers from UW. Sharing with fellow partners and researchers trying to advance BMI as well as those researching and/ or re-creating brain/ neuro patterns in systems.

The neurons in the human brain are densely interlaced, sharing upwards of 100 trillion physical connections. It is widely theorized that this tremendous connectivity is one of the facets of our nervous system that enables human intelligence. In this study, over the course of a week, human subjects learned to use electrical activity recorded directly from the surface of their brain to control a computer cursor. This provided us an opportunity to investigate patterns of interactivity that occur in the brain during the development of a new skill. We demonstrated two fundamentally different forms of interactions, one spanning only neighboring populations of neurons and the other covering much longer distances across the brain. The short-distance interaction type was notably stronger during early phases of learning, lessening with time, whereas the other was not. These findings point to evidence of multiple different forms of task-relevant communication taking place between regions in the human brain, and serve as a building block in our efforts to better understand human intelligence.

Citation: Wander JD, Sarma D, Johnson LA, Fetz EE, Rao RPN, Ojemann JG, et al. (2016) Cortico-Cortical Interactions during Acquisition and Use of a Neuroprosthetic Skill. PLoS Comput Biol 12: e1004931. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004931

Continue reading “Cortico-Cortical Interactions during Acquisition and Use of a Neuroprosthetic Skill” »

Luv this.

Smart devices implanted in the body have thus far not been able to communicate via Wi-Fi due to the power requirements of such communications. Surgery is required when the battery in a brain stimulator or a pacemaker needs to be replaced. Not only is this expensive, but any surgery has inherent risks and could lead to complications. It is therefore critically important that the battery life in implanted medical devices be preserved for as long as possible.

Continue reading “For the First Time Ever a New Way of Communication Enables ‘Talking’ Between Body Implants and Smartphones” »

Another beautiful use for VR.

Brain-machine interfaces and exoskeletons, combined with VR technology triggers partial recovery in 8 patients.

Quantum mechanics, though firmly tested, is so weird and anti-intuitive that famed physicist Richard Feynman once remarked, “I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics.” Attempts to explain some of the bizarre consequences of quantum theory have led to some mind-bending ideas, such as the Copenhagen interpretation and the many-worlds interpretation.

Now there’s a new theory on the block, called the “many interacting worlds” hypothesis (MIW), and the idea is just as profound as it sounds. The theory suggests not only that parallel worlds exist, but that they interact with our world on the quantum level and are thus detectable. Though still speculative, the theory may help to finally explain some of the bizarre consequences inherent in quantum mechanics, reports RT.com.

Continue reading “Parallel Worlds Exist And Interact With Our World, Physicists Say” »

I truly hope these never malfunction while flying in areas near civilian areas.

The agency adds to a contract with Northrop to develop a small system that can be mounted on manned and unmanned aircraft.

Hmmmm;

It is an old issue, but with a new revelation by the most credible insider source to date. Recently, I was contacted by Dr. Paul Batcho. Batcho is a former DARPA senior scientist who worked at Los Alamos and held a top secret security clearance. In short, Batcho asserts that clandestine forces are purposely engaging in “acts of terrorism” against the general public through emission of dangerous frequencies from cell phone and microwave towers in the St. Petersburg/Orlando/ Tampa, Florida area.

Before launching into a revelation of the stunning claims presented to me by Dr. Batcho, let’s establish his crediblity as a reliable witness.

Continue reading “Senior DARPA Scientist Warns of Widespread LETHAL ATTACKS Upon the Public Coming From Microwave Towers” »

A squishy underwater robot with limbs that bend in every direction requires unusual control strategies.

The Elon Musk-backed OpenAI project became Nvidia’s first ever customer to buy a DGX-1 “AI supercomputer in a box.” The system can deliver up to 170 teraflops of performance, which should enable the OpenAI team to significantly improve their AI research.

Think of a traditional robot and you probably imagine something made from metal and plastic. Such “nuts-and-bolts” robots are made of hard materials. As robots take on more roles beyond the lab, such rigid systems can present safety risks to the people they interact with. For example, if an industrial robot swings into a person, there is the risk of bruises or bone damage.

Researchers are increasingly looking for solutions to make robots softer or more compliant – less like rigid machines, more like animals. With traditional actuators – such as motors – this can mean using air muscles or adding springs in parallel with motors. For example, on a Whegs robot, having a spring between a motor and the wheel leg (Wheg) means that if the robot runs into something (like a person), the spring absorbs some of the energy so the person isn’t hurt. The bumper on a Roomba vacuuming robot is another example; it’s spring-loaded so the Roomba doesn’t damage the things it bumps into.

But there’s a growing area of research that’s taking a different approach. By combining robotics with tissue engineering, we’re starting to build robots powered by living muscle tissue or cells. These devices can be stimulated electrically or with light to make the cells contract to bend their skeletons, causing the robot to swim or crawl. The resulting biobots can move around and are soft like animals. They’re safer around people and typically less harmful to the environment they work in than a traditional robot might be. And since, like animals, they need nutrients to power their muscles, not batteries, biohybrid robots tend to be lighter too.

Continue reading “Biohybrid Robots Built From Living Tissue Start To Take Shape” »