Human Thoughts Control New Robot

Traditional robots have been (and still are) controlled by remote control, a set of pre-programmed movements, or a set of algorithms to create a so-called “intelligent” robot with it’s own personality.

However, scientists at the University of Washington have been working on a new way to control a gadget fan’s best friend – not through technology but using the immense power of human thought. The technology is proving to be a huge success with an alleged 94% accuracy between the thought commands and the robot’s movements. Of course, this isn’t an episode of “Star Trek” – the commands the robot can accept are currently limited to moving forward and taking an object from one place to another.

Rajesh Rao, the leading researcher on the project at the University of Washington, said, “It suggests that one day we might be able to use semi-autonomous robots for such jobs as helping disabled people or performing routine tasks in a person’s home.”

This is certainly one robot that would make a real change in the home for the better, and not in the style of the film “I, Robot.” Hopefully this technology will advance further. Rao sees a bright future for this technology and is looking forward to the robot accepting more complex commands and tasks.

Watch the video here.

Traditional robots have been (and still are) controlled by remote control, a set of pre-programmed movements, or a set of algorithms to create a so-called “intelligent” robot with it’s own personality.

However, scientists at the University of Washington have been working on a new way to control a gadget fan’s best friend – not through technology but using the immense power of human thought. The technology is proving to be a huge success with an alleged 94% accuracy between the thought commands and the robot’s movements. Of course, this isn’t an episode of “Star Trek” – the commands the robot can accept are currently limited to moving forward and taking an object from one place to another.

Rajesh Rao, the leading researcher on the project at the University of Washington, said, “It suggests that one day we might be able to use semi-autonomous robots for such jobs as helping disabled people or performing routine tasks in a person’s home.”

This is certainly one robot that would make a real change in the home for the better, and not in the style of the film “I, Robot.” Hopefully this technology will advance further. Rao sees a bright future for this technology and is looking forward to the robot accepting more complex commands and tasks.

Watch the video here.