George Rebane
New Prosthesis has a bigger role to play. Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway and one of the true geniuses of our time, accepted a challenge from the Department of Defense to develop a prosthetic that 
gives the radical at-the-shoulder amputee an arm and hand that truly replicates almost all the functions of a real arm and hand. A report and video of this project is available here.
As astounding as this advance is – and this is only the beginning – what occurred to me is that the real benefit from this technology will come from its application to fine resolution manipulanda on remotely operated platforms. These may range from robots on the moon to surgical theaters on the other side of the world. The transducers that take the nerve impulses controlling the arm don’t have to come from an amputee, but from anyone who has need to use such a remotely controlled machine for handling and manipulating things with a precision never before possible. And, oh yes, the next generation of household robots may be able to play a little Chopin at the living room keyboard when asked.
'Mind Gaming' Could Enter Market This Year. As in the previous SingularitySignposts - 14mar2008, another new user interface is being readied for the commercial markets. The first application will be in 
fielding a new genre of games that take direction directly from the player's brain waves. The picture shows Emotiv Systems' mind-control gaming headset to be introduced later this year. Image strapping on one of these (of course, reduced into a more discreet form factor) and making all kinds of things happen on your computer or with other gadgets you may have around the house connected to your home wireless network. More on this can be found here. Fun times.
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