Robot hand prosthesis that not only senses touch but also temperature by joining with human nerve

I am in the USADARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Bureau)Is vigorously developing a new type "robot prosthesis" which further developed ordinary prosthetic hands, and it seems that there is a possibility that it can reach practical use in 2009 in the schedule.

The characteristic of this robot prosthesis is that not only can it get tactile by joining it with the nerve, but also the position of the arm can be felt, and it seems to know the temperature. In other words, it seems that feeling when you actually grab things and a feeling of wielding your arms are obtained directly by feedback in real.

The robot's prosthetic hands, pretty nice, the development process and future plans are as follows.
Best Bionic Arm - Proto 1 - DARPA Prosthetics Research Initiative - Jesse Sullivan - Popular Mechanics

According to this article,Johns Hopkins UniversityThe first type, called "Proto 1" developed at the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), is attached to the chest and shoulder, so that you can move it exactly as you like, and you can actually get tactile sensations etc .

It was "Proto 2" that made this even more powerful, and it will be completed by the end of this summer. This is more powerful than the previous model, and the behavior is also faster and flexibility is also increasing. In addition to the sense of touch when touched further, I feel that I can sense even the temperature, the sense of the space position where the arm is now, and even the temperature.

Actual robot artificial hands look like this.


A pretty awesome future is waiting for you. Expect great.