| Peter Del Bosque | 07/06/2012 11:31PM
In a recent article from New Scientist magazine, it was reported there has been an amazing new technological creation out of the Bar-Ilan University in Israel. An actual robot in a French laboratory was used as a surrogate for an Israeli student in Isreal using only his mind to cause the robot to move and interact with someone in France. What this means is that the controller was manipulating the movements of the robot more than 2000km away.
The way it works is, the student volunteer thinks out movements in his mind and then the information is sent by a transmission signal to the avatar robot in France where it is then capable of reenacting the 'thought-of' movements.
You may ask yourself, “What is the importance of such an avatar and why does it matter in the first place?” Well, the answer can be found in today's headlines. Most news reveals tragic events related to the military or law enforcement. If an avatar or surrogate can be used in dangerous situations, risk of human life would be eliminated. There could potentially be countless uses for avatars and in this circumstance, the use of the avatar created is called, 'Robotic Re-Embodiment.' ultimately it will be used to help people who have been immobilized by an accident or have complex medical issues allowing the recipients to better function in everyday situations.
Here are some related links:
Japanese robot vs. human wins rock-paper-scissors all the time.
Researchers Build Robot Arm That Can Shoot Hoops, Toss Darts
Here's a cool video of the avatar in action.
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