Beyond Bionics: Robotic Prostheses and the Brain
Dr. Giacomo Valle, Postdoc at NeuroEngineering Lab, D-HEST, IRIS, ETH Zürich
Prof. Dr. Stanisa Raspopovic at NeuroEngineering Lab, D-HEST, IRIS, ETH Zürich
The lecture will be about the fascinating and futuristic research into connecting the human nervous system with bionic limbs. Striving to close the gap between humans and machines, this research combines neuroscience and medicine, engineering and artificial intelligence. Researchers are now working on creating prosthetic limbs that utilize the body’s complex senses and nervous system to restore sensory-motor functions lost after an injury or a disease. Neuro-prosthetics are implantable devices designed to replace or improve the function of a disabled part of the nervous system. This lecture will present approaches for restoring sensory-motor functions through neuro-prostheses. We will also look at Cybathlon, the global challenge to develop advanced assistive devices to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities. In the near future, neuro-technologies will continue to grow and implantable neuro-technologies will be literally part of us. The boundaries between human and machine thus become blurred, raising ethical, social, and cultural questions.