In this week’s episode of the Engineering Update starring Editor Kasey Panetta (@kcpanetta), Digital Editor Jason Lomberg (@JasonECNMag), and WDD’s Editor-in-Chief, Janine E. Mooney (@JMooneyWDD):
Controlling a robotic arm with your thoughts
You might remember a few years ago when scientists discovered that, by inserting an implant in the brain of a quadriplegic woman, she was able to control a robot arm with just her thoughts. By implanting 96 contact points on the part of the brain that would control the right hand and arm of Jan Scheurmann, the team at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found that each contact point could pick up signals from an individual neuron.
The Navy’s shark drone
It moves gracefully through the ocean, all 5 feet and 100 pounds of fully realized terror beneath the waves. Slithering along at depths ranging from 10 inches to 300 feet and resembling the prehistoric, carnivorous predator it was modelled after, it moves purposefully in search of its prey, scaring the bejesus out of anyone unlucky enough to cross paths with this horrifying beast. It is the Navy’s Ghostswimmer.
Life-saving car-to-cyclist communication system
Volvo is working with Swedish helmet manufacturer POC and Ericsson to develop a car-to-cyclist safety system. The technology consists of a connected car and helmet prototype that will establish 2-way communication offering proximity alerts to Volvo car drivers and cyclists and thereby avoid accidents. Cyclists must be carrying a smartphone running an app such as Strava, which tracks their location in real time.
