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NSF Funds Mind-machine Interface Center 60

Posted by CmdrTaco from the i-thought-about-that-once dept.
An anonymous reader writes "The National Science Foundation today announced an $18.5 million grant to establish an Engineering Research Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering based at the University of Washington. 'The center will work on robotic devices that interact with, assist and understand the nervous system,' said director Yoky Matsuoka. 'It will combine advances in robotics, neuroscience, electromechanical devices and computer science to restore or augment the body's ability for sensation and movement.' Steve Austin, anyone?"
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NSF Funds Mind-machine Interface Center More

NSF Funds Mind-machine Interface Center

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  • Mind/Machine Interface (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Prerequisite: Doctrine: Air Power, Neural Grafting
    Technology: Graviton Theory, Digital Sentience, Biomachinery
    Secret Project: The Cyborg Factory
    Secret Project: The Cloudbase Academy
    Citizens: Thinker
    Chassis: Copter
    Diplomatic Proposal: Unite Behind Me As Supreme Leader
    Special Ability: Drop Pods
    Improves Probe Team success rate.
    Track and Level: Conquer 6

    • Not quite sure why mind-machine interface requires graviton theory. The rest of it seems to suggest that the main use of the technology is improved control of air combat vehicles.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by poity ( 465672 )

      Should have gone with Discover lvl 6: Fusion Power

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Ambvai ( 1106941 )

      The Warrior's bland acronym, MMI, obscures the true horror of this monstrosity. Its inventors promise a new era of genius, but meanwhile unscrupulous power brokers use its forcible installation to violate the sanctity of unwilling human minds. They are creating their own private army of demons.
      -Commissioner Pravin Lal, "Report on Human Rights"

      • Mod parent up
      • I think, and my thoughts cross the barrier into the synapses of the machine - just as the good doctor intended. But what I cannot shake, and what hints at things to come, is that thoughts cross back. In my dreams the sensibility of the machine invades the periphery of my consciousness. Dark. Rigid. Cold. Alien. Evolution is at work here, but just what is evolving remains to be seen.
    • Suppose one could bypass the eyes or ears with electronics so the the blind and deaf could see or hear. Now suppose one could do that for all of our senses. Now suppose one could keep the brain alive outside of the body for a long time. Now suppose one could hook up that brain to a computer and provide a total artificial world . Would the brain know that it is in a artificial world? Now proof that it already has not happened. Maybe the world with all its challenges is the best that can be provided fo
      • So you've watched The Matrix, then?
      • The dichotomy of reality is simple: the knowable and the changable are useful, the unknowable and unchangable are not useful. Any time or effort spent on the latter is also not useful.

        Even if our reality were artificial, it is the only one we have, and with no guarantees regarding the future it's better to make full use of it than waste time worrying about what could be possible but can never be known or changed.

      • Would the brain know that it is in a artificial world? Now proof that it already has not happened.

        Not such a new concept there: people were already thinking about it 2500 years ago [wikipedia.org]

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by gorzek ( 647352 )

      It's always a good time for an Alpha Centauri reference. Where's a "thumbs up" emoticon when you need it?

  • Can I get the doofy sound effect when I jump onto a roof ?

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      It's configurable. You can make it sound like you stepped on a cat whenever the large toe flexes if you like.

      • I want a prosthetic torso that makes a "You've got Mail" sound when I get shot in the chest with an Arrow. "Message for you Sir!"
  • We have the technology, we can rebuild him.
  • Maybe now we will see some real progress that isn't as hampered by the ever present bottom line.

  • NSF Funds? (Score:4, Funny)

    by bhcompy ( 1877290 ) on Thursday July 14, 2011 @09:02AM (#36762242)
    Non-sufficient funds funds?

    • I was wondering also how a mind-machine interface related to bounced checks...

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by slick7 ( 1703596 )

        I was wondering also how a mind-machine interface related to bounced checks...

        Once they stop printing fiat money and go all digital currency, flip a switch, a thousand zeroes added to the economy. Another flip of a switch, what debt? I relish the day when my electro-mechanical overlords with the new, improved, Apple iBrain dictate my every thought and movement. Think of the children. America, love it or nuke it!

    • Yes, you withdraw them from the ATM machine.

  • Super Wrestler! (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    What ever happened to that guy?

  • Not enough coffee (Score:3)

    by MonsterTrimble ( 1205334 ) <monstertrimble.hotmail@com> on Thursday July 14, 2011 @09:10AM (#36762340)
    I read the headline and my thought was 'from the Lt. Barclay was here dept.'

    Then read the summary and thought? Steve Austin? What the hell does Stone Cold have to do with this?

  • What is this stupid phrasing "Steve Austin, anyone?" about? Why do people use it? You can just hear the writer's pleading voice going "Eh? Eh? Aren't I clever?" as if you couldn't catch his meaning unless he elbowed you in the ribs a few more times.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Austin_(fictional_character) 2 seconds on google to figure that out.

      But then, it still is pretty stupid, especially considering there's a more famous steve austin that makes /no/ sense in this context.

      • Re: Re: Self-indulgence, anyone? (Score:1)

        by Anonymous Coward

        Haha, I plus one the post above this... Google brought me directly to Stone Cold... Read his bio, tried to figure out how they connected... nothing... "Maybe this is a metaphor for Stone Cold's amazing grasp of reality and how _in touch_ he is with life" was my first thought... but i'm gonna say it's probably not that.....

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Anonymous Coward

        I'm starting to realize how old I am. Without question or hesitation, I knew EXACTLY which SA he was talking about. As did every one else over 35 on here.

        It's like bringing Tribbles up at a dinner party--only to realize that one there has a clue what you are talking about.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by slick7 ( 1703596 )

      What is this stupid phrasing "Steve Austin, anyone?" about? Why do people use it? You can just hear the writer's pleading voice going "Eh? Eh? Aren't I clever?" as if you couldn't catch his meaning unless he elbowed you in the ribs a few more times.

      Hey, whatta bout Jamie Sommers?

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Anonymous Coward

        What is this stupid phrasing "Steve Austin, anyone?" about? Why do people use it? You can just hear the writer's pleading voice going "Eh? Eh? Aren't I clever?" as if you couldn't catch his meaning unless he elbowed you in the ribs a few more times.

        Hey, whatta bout Jamie Sommers?

        Yea, I'd like to get into her "Sleep number bed".

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Creepy ( 93888 )

        Neither of which had neural interfaces (except maybe the zoom lens and nightvision eye), but I suppose Johnny Mnemonic would be too obvious. And yes, I mean the book version - I have never seen the film version sober enough to remember it and don't intend on changing that anytime soon.

  • Sony patented this (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Get ready for the lawsuit

  • We have the technology
  • Neo: I thought it wasn't real Morpheus: Your mind makes it real Neo: If you're killed in the matrix, do you die here? Morpheus: The body cannot live without the mind Morpheus: Throughout human history, we have been dependent on machines to survive. Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony. Am I the only one here that thinks this is a bad idea?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by xkuehn ( 2202854 )

      That's a common myth.

      People can and do die in their dreams and suffer no ill effect (personal experience).

      • Well, from my personal experience, when I die in a dream (rarely, thankfully) I spend the entire next day feeling disconnected from my body. It's not a physical problem, certainly, but it's very disconcerting all the same.

      • The Matrix was just a stupid movie. It was chock full of plot holes and inconsistencies and scientific absurdities. I am still baffled why people love it so much, except for special effects.

    • Neo: I thought it wasn't real Morpheus: Your mind makes it real Neo: If you're killed in the matrix, do you die here? Morpheus: The body cannot live without the mind Morpheus: Throughout human history, we have been dependent on machines to survive. Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony.

      Am I the only one here that thinks this is a bad idea?

      What? <br> tags?

  • Hopefully in a few years we have artificial limbs that will be more lifelike and move more organically.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Creepy ( 93888 )

      Why artificial? In a few years I expect full limb replacements grown either from stemming and letting them grow from the missing location or from vats and having them sewn on.

      Bionic arms and legs may be more cool, but I imagine you'd need to plug them in to do anything super-powered.

  • It's not a Mind-Machine Interface; it's a Brain-Machine Interface. If you're a physicalist, then there is no such thing as a Mind-Machine Interface, because there are no minds, only brains. If you're a dualist, then the technological goal described in the article is no more a Mind-Machine Interface than the laptop on which I'm typing this comment. In both cases, the brain mediates between the mind and the machine -- the only difference is the presence or absence of additional mediators (fingers, a keyboa

  • Hopefully this research will lead to better prosthetics.

    I mean, the stuff in Deus Ex is pretty awesome and that's only a few years away according to the game, so them scientists better get crackin'.

  • ...welcome our new Sensorimotor Neural Engineering overlords.

  • Synthetic telepathy implants are already in the brains of countless people. They are being implanted covertly in medical settings, so-called "alien abductions," etc. Technology is helping usher in a brave new world of high-tech slavery. These devices allow two-way communication of thoughts between humans and computers over wireless links. Basically a much-advanced version of current smartphone technology.

    The problem is that it's being used for gross and mass human rights violations, without a pe

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