Science fiction novels have long foretold the possibility oh human-machinery interaction.
(Mirror Daily, United States) – Atlas is living proof that technology has reached a point where robots are not only possible, but they exist, and they accomplish tasks with skills frightfully close to those of a human being. And after the world plunged into a series of moral debates on whether or not the advancements in robotics will lead to the ultimate destruction of mankind, DARPA’s working on creating the first military cyborgs.
It may be that the thought of a cyborg makes the service cringe a little less than the idea of an entirely autonomous robot that wreaks havoc on the battlefield not knowing when or whether it should stop.
Because the Agency of Advanced Research Defense Projects, or DARPA, which is a branch of the Defense Department of the United States, officially announced on its website that they are currently involved in developing a neural communication interface.
The small device that DARPA is focusing its attention on would be implanted in the brain of a soldier. And with its aid, the individual will be able to communicate with machines only by thinking about the functions that need to be completed.
So basically, DARPA’s working on creating the first military cyborgs. That really doesn’t sound less scary than the idea of Terminators taking over the army and plunging into war without consideration for human weakness.
According to their statement that was posted on their official website, the agency is using a neural engineering design system, or NESD, in order to create the small device that will be able to sustain a neural connection between a human brain and a piece of technology.
The electronic device will serve as a sort of translator. It will convert the brainwaves that are basically electrochemical signals into the classic zeroes and ones, the language of the machines.
The researchers that are working on the project are attempting to create such a device from biocompatible materials. Also, the size should not be larger than 1 cubic centimeter.
But the technology will not only create cyborgs meant for military use. Such a breakthrough will help patients that suffer from progressive neurological disorders to communicate with the rest of their body. Also, individuals that are forced to wear prosthetics will be able to integrate them into their neural pathways, working their mechanical arms and legs as if they were their own.
DARPA’s working on creating the first military cyborgs, but the technology could be applied to countless other patients. Imagine a walking and talking Stephen Hawking.
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Joe Hennessey
