Technology Really Making a Difference
What will the future hold? A dream is coming true for one young man.
Are the Science Fiction flicks of days gone past the future of tomorrow? How phenomenal it is to see technology creating opportunities …. The demonstration, known as the Walk Again project will take place on June 12 in Sao Paulo, Brazil before the opening game of the World Cup.
As every soccer lover knows, on June 12th, the FIFA World Cup kicks off in Brazil. But did you also know the opening ceremony will feature a very special guest? A Brazilian teenager paralyzed from the waist down will be wheeled onto the field then rise from his wheelchair and kick the first ball. Pretty cool, huh? I think it is amazing.
What makes this possible is a high-tech prosthesis, an exoskeleton inspired two decades ago by a National Science Foundation grant to investigate how neurons in a person’s cerebral cortex, or gray matter, relate to human movement. The exoskeleton is mind-controlled, the first to take cues from user brain activity to power his or her steps.
The National Science Foundation’s video covers the basic research needed to develop the exoskeleton, which evolves from recording the brain waves of monkeys to having a monkey control a robotic arm with just its thoughts. The video shows the actual exoskeleton and the World Cup kick. Check it out!
