Swiss engineers tested a robotic third arm controlled by breathing (video)
Swiss engineers have tested the technology of controlling a robotic third arm using breathing on 61 volunteers.
Responding to the movements of the diaphragm, the robotic arm moved back and forth, and the subjects were able to perform simple tasks, such as pointing to the desired item on the table.
In the future, the direction of gaze can also be used to control such a robotic hand, the developers said. у New Scientist. The article devoted to the third limb was published in Science Robotics.
Such additional limbs could become important tools for surgeons or people working in industrial plants, the researchers say.
How difficult is it to control the third hand.
To test whether people would be able to use such an augmentation at all and whether it would be difficult to learn, researchers at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne offered some volunteers preliminary training in virtual reality.
Participants who had previously tried to use the third limb in virtual reality were 22.2 percent more likely to succeed with a real robotic limb. However, 74 percent of those who saw the device for the first time were able to master its use on their own.
Currently, the platform is very simple and does not have, for example, fingers that can be used to hold objects – it can only point to them. However, using it did not interfere with the participants’ breathing or ability to speak while controlling the limb.
The next development, the engineers hope, will involve muscle movements in the ears that are linked to eye movements, so that the robotic arm can be controlled by gaze.
