In this episode, we explore an innovative prosthesis driven by the nervous system that helps people with amputations walk naturally and discover how this cutting-edge technology is transforming mobility and enhancing the quality of life for amputees by restoring a natural gait.

Podcast: Bionics Help Amputees Take Big Strides Forward

This article was discussed in our <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/profile/the.next.byte" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Next Byte podcast</a>.&nbsp;<iframe height="200px" width="100%" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://player.simplecast.com/ceb16e69-0075-4e23-97b8-f679ee5b172e?dark=false" class="fr-draggable" data-gtm-yt-inspected-24="true" data-lf-form-tracking-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-vimeo-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true"></iframe> The full article will continue below.<hr>State-of-the-art prosthetic limbs can help people with amputations achieve a natural walking gait, but they don’t give the user full neural control over the limb. Instead, they rely on robotic sensors and controllers that move the limb using predefined gait algorithms.Using a new type of surgical intervention and neuroprosthetic interface, MIT researchers, in collaboration with colleagues from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, have shown that a natural walking gait is achievable using a prosthetic leg fully driven by the body’s own nervous system. The surgical amputation procedure reconnects muscles in the residual limb, which allows patients to receive “proprioceptive” feedback about where their prosthetic limb is in space.In a study of seven patients who had this surgery, the MIT team found that they were able to walk faster, avoid obstacles, and climb stairs much more naturally than people with a traditional amputation.<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fKdnu50Nx-8?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0&amp;enablejsapi=1&amp;origin=https://www.wevolver.com" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" data-lf-form-tracking-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-vimeo-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-gtm-yt-inspected-24="true" id="651131305" title="Helping people with amputation walk naturally">&nbsp;</iframe>“This is the first prosthetic study in history that shows a leg prosthesis under full neural modulation, where a biomimetic gait emerges.&nbsp;No one has been able to show this level of brain control that produces a natural gait, where the human’s nervous system is controlling the movement, not a robotic control algorithm,” says Hugh Herr,&nbsp;a professor of media arts and sciences, co-director of the K. Lisa Yang Center for Bionics at MIT, an associate member of MIT’s McGovern Institute for Brain Research, and the senior author of the new study.Patients also experienced less pain and less muscle atrophy following this surgery, which is known as the agonist-antagonist myoneural interface (AMI). So far, about 60 patients around the world have received this type of surgery, which can also be done for people with arm amputations.Hyungeun Song, a postdoc in MIT’s Media Lab, is the lead author of the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-024-02994-9" target="_blank">paper</a>, which appears today in Nature Medicine.<h2>Sensory feedback</h2>Most limb movement is controlled by pairs of muscles that take turns stretching and contracting. During a traditional below-the-knee amputation, the interactions of these paired muscles are disrupted. This makes it very difficult for the nervous system to sense the position of a muscle and how fast it’s contracting — sensory information that is critical for the brain to decide how to move the limb.People with this kind of amputation may have trouble controlling their prosthetic limb because they can’t accurately sense where the limb is in space. Instead, they rely on robotic controllers built into the prosthetic limb. These limbs also include sensors that can detect and adjust to slopes and obstacles.To try to help people achieve a natural gait under full nervous system control, Herr and his colleagues began developing the AMI surgery several years ago. Instead of severing natural agonist-antagonist muscle interactions, they connect the two ends of the muscles so that they still dynamically communicate with each other within the residual limb. This surgery can be done during a primary amputation, or the muscles can be reconnected after the initial amputation as part of a revision procedure.“With the AMI amputation procedure, to the greatest extent possible, we attempt to connect native agonists to native antagonists in a physiological way so that after amputation, a person can move their full phantom limb with physiologic levels of proprioception and range of movement,” Herr says.In a 2021 <a href="https://news.mit.edu/2021/surgery-control-prosthetic-limbs-0215" target="_blank">study</a>, Herr’s lab found that patients who had this surgery were able to more precisely control the muscles of their amputated limb, and that those muscles produced electrical signals similar to those from their intact limb.After those encouraging results, the researchers set out to explore whether those electrical signals could generate commands for a prosthetic limb and at the same time give the user feedback about the limb’s position in space. The person wearing the prosthetic limb could then use that proprioceptive feedback to volitionally adjust their gait as needed.In the new Nature Medicine study, the MIT team found this sensory feedback did indeed translate into a smooth, near-natural ability to walk and navigate obstacles.“Because of the AMI neuroprosthetic interface, we were able to boost that neural signaling, preserving as much as we could. This was able to restore a person's neural capability to continuously and directly control the full gait, across different walking speeds, stairs, slopes, even going over obstacles,” Song says.<h2>A natural gait</h2>For this study, the researchers compared seven people who had the AMI surgery with seven who had traditional below-the-knee amputations. All of the subjects used the same type of bionic limb: a prosthesis with a powered ankle as well as electrodes that can sense electromyography (EMG) signals from the tibialis anterior the gastrocnemius muscles. These signals are fed into a robotic controller that helps the prosthesis calculate how much to bend the ankle, how much torque to apply, or how much power to deliver.The researchers tested the subjects in several different situations: level-ground walking across a 10-meter pathway, walking up a slope, walking down a ramp, walking up and down stairs, and walking on a level surface while avoiding obstacles.In all of these tasks, the people with the AMI neuroprosthetic interface were able to walk faster — at about the same rate as people without amputations — and navigate around obstacles more easily. They also showed more natural movements, such as pointing the toes of the prosthesis upward while going up stairs or stepping over an obstacle, and they were better able to coordinate the movements of their prosthetic limb and their intact limb. They were also able to push off the ground with the same amount of force as someone without an amputation.“With the AMI cohort, we saw natural biomimetic behaviors emerge,” Herr says.&nbsp;“The cohort that didn’t have the AMI, they were able to walk, but the prosthetic movements weren’t natural, and their movements were generally slower.”These natural behaviors emerged even though the amount of sensory feedback provided by the AMI was less than 20 percent of what would normally be received in people without an amputation.“One of the main findings here is that a small increase in neural feedback from your amputated limb can restore significant bionic neural controllability, to a point where you allow people to directly neurally control the speed of walking, adapt to different terrain, and avoid obstacles,” Song says.“This work represents yet another step in us demonstrating what is possible in terms of restoring function in patients who suffer from severe limb injury. It is through collaborative efforts such as this that we are able to make transformational progress in patient care,” says Matthew Carty, a surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and associate professor at Harvard Medical School, who is also an author of the paper.Enabling neural control by the person using the limb is a step toward Herr’s lab’s goal of “rebuilding human bodies,” rather than having people rely on ever more sophisticated robotic controllers and sensors — tools that are powerful but do not feel like part of the user’s body.“The problem with that long-term approach is that the user would never feel embodied with their prosthesis. They would never view the prosthesis as part of their body, part of self,” Herr says. “The approach we’re taking is trying to comprehensively connect the brain of the human to the electromechanics.”The research was funded by the MIT K. Lisa Yang Center for Bionics and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNzIwNDIzMTQxODg1LV9NR185NjE2LTMuanBnIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Credit: Jimmy Day, MIT Media Lab

“This is the first prosthetic study in history that shows a leg prosthesis under full neural modulation,” Hugh Herr says. Image: Courtesy of Hugh Herr and Hyungeun Song

A new surgical procedure gives people more neural feedback from their residual limb. With it, seven patients walked more naturally and navigated obstacles.

A prosthesis driven by the nervous system helps people with amputation walk naturally

To advance soft robotics, skin-integrated electronics and biomedical devices, researchers at Penn State have developed a 3D-printed material that is soft and stretchable — traits needed for matching the properties of tissues and organs — and that self-assembles. Their approach employs a process that eliminates many drawbacks of previous fabrication methods, such as less conductivity or device failure, the team said. &nbsp;They published their results in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.202400082" target="_blank">Advanced Materials</a>. &nbsp;&nbsp;“People have been developing soft and stretchable conductors for almost a decade, but the conductivity is not usually very high,” said corresponding author Tao Zhou, Penn State assistant professor of engineering science and mechanics and of biomedical engineering in the College of Engineering and of materials science and engineering in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. “Researchers realized they could reach high conductivity with liquid metal-based conductors, but the significant limitation of that is that it requires a secondary method to activate the material before it can reach a high conductivity.”&nbsp;Liquid metal-based stretchable conductors suffer from inherent complexity and challenges posed by the post-fabrication activation process, the researchers said. The secondary activation methods include stretching, compressing, shear friction, mechanical sintering and laser activation, all of which can lead to challenges in fabrication and can cause the liquid metal to leak, resulting in device failure. &nbsp;&nbsp;“Our method does not require any secondary activation to make the material conductive,” said Zhou, who also has affiliations with the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences and the Materials Research Institute. “The material can self-assemble to make its bottom surface be very conductive and its top surface self-insulated.”&nbsp;In the new method, the researchers combine liquid metal, a conductive polymer mixture called PEDOT:PSS and hydrophilic polyurethane that enables the liquid metal to transform into particles. When the composite soft material is printed and heated, the liquid metal particles on its bottom surface self-assemble into a conductive pathway. The particles in the top layer are exposed to an oxygen-rich environment and oxidize, forming an insulated top layer. The conductive layer is critical for conveying information to the sensor — such as muscle activity recordings and strain sensing on the body — while the insulated layer helps prevent signal leakage that could lead to less accurate data collection.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1719495196118-240205-psnbody1-tao.jpg" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">The new material, shown here, can self-assemble to make its bottom surface conductive and its top surface self-insulated. Credit: Marzia Momin. All Rights Reserved.“Our innovation here is a materials one,” Zhou said. “Normally, when liquid metal mixes with polymers, they are not conductive and require secondary activation to achieve conductivity. But these three components allow for the self-assembly that produces the high conductivity of soft and stretchable material without a secondary activation method.” &nbsp;The material can also be 3D-printed, Zhou said, making it easier to fabricate wearable devices. The researchers are continuing to explore potential applications, with a focus on assistive technology for people with disabilities.&nbsp;The papers other authors are Salahuddin Ahmed, Marzia Momin and Jiashu Ren, all doctoral students in the Penn State engineering science and mechanics department, and Hyunjin Lee, a doctoral student in the biomedical engineering department at Penn State. This work was supported by the National Taipei University of Technology-Penn State Collaborative Seed Grant Program and by the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, the Materials Research Institute and the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1719495222063-240205-psnbody2-tao.jpg" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">The researchers 3D print the novel material.&nbsp;Credit: Marzia Momin. All Rights Reserved.

Penn State researchers developed a new soft and stretchable material that can be 3D-printed. The material can be used to fabricate wearable devices, such a sensor that can be worn on a finger, as shown here. Credit: Marzia Momin. All Rights Reserved.

To advance soft robotics, skin-integrated electronics and biomedical devices, researchers at Penn State have developed a 3D-printed material that is soft and stretchable — traits needed for matching the properties of tissues and organs — and that self-assembles.

Self-assembling, highly conductive sensors could improve wearable devices

Humanoid robots are designed to resemble and mimic human actions and interactions, placing them as a bridge forming collaborations between humans and machines. Their human-like appearance and movements create a sense of relatability and approachability not typically seen in traditional industrial robots. This "personal appeal" has sparked increased interest in developing humanoid robots for diverse applications, such as healthcare, customer service, education, and even space exploration - where human characteristics such as empathy, decision-making making, and personality are deemed valuable.&nbsp;This article provides insights into four of the leading humanoid robot projects from around the world.&nbsp;<h2>Selection Rationale</h2>The humanoid robots selected in this comparison represent the pinnacle of the current state of humanoid robotic technology. Each robot was selected based on its unique contributions to its field, ranging from technical capabilities to broadest application.&nbsp;Each selected robot is also in full production and either available for purchase or being used by their creators in real-time applications.&nbsp;<h2>Optimus by Tesla</h2>Also known as Tesla Bot, this general-purpose, bipedal, autonomous humanoid robot was created to perform unsafe, repetitive, or boring tasks. The company announced the robot's development in August 2021 and showed the prototype in 2022. Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, claimed that Optimus will eventually be able to do "anything that humans don’t want to do."Tesla's Optimus can sort colored blocks by color, locate its limbs in space, do some yoga, and even poach an egg. In December 2023, Musk released a video showing an Optimus Generation 2 walking and dancing. The new robot features a slimmer figure and sleeker, more precise movements.&nbsp;The robot is planned to measure 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) tall and weigh 125 lb (57 kg), and it will be controlled by the same AI system that Tesla uses in its cars. With a carrying capacity of 45 lb (20 kg), it can provide manufacturing assistance, and Musk has already commented that the robots will be utilized in Tesla’s car factories by the end of 2024 to enhance the factory's efficiency and significantly reduce production costs.&nbsp;The first commercial units of Tesla's Optimus will launch in 2025.<img width="624" src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1719036519097-1719036519097.png" class="fr-fic fr-dii" style="width: 778px;">Optimus, by Tesla, promises to be the future of automation in manufacturing. Credit:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tesla.com/en_eu/AI" target="_blank">Tesla</a><h2>Atlas by Boston Dynamics</h2>Atlas, engineered by leading robotic company Boston Dynamics, represents a huge leap forward for robotic mobility and adaptability. Debuting on July 11, 2013, Atlas was designed to traverse and interact with its surroundings with a fluidity and precision reminiscent of human motion. Constructed with robust plastics, titanium, and aluminum 3D printed parts, Atlas was originally &nbsp; driven by powerful hydraulic actuators, but now, the company has announced a fully electric robot. In widely shared videos, Atlas has demonstrated a broad spectrum of physical prowess, including running, leaping, and executing backflips easily. These types of motion are difficult as they require the robot to self-correct and consider environmental factors.&nbsp;Atlas uses a comprehensive sensor network powered by AI to facilitate meticulous navigation and the proficient completion of multifaceted tasks across diverse landscapes. Such capabilities mean Atlas may have a future in scenarios such as search and rescue or fire management, where its agility and adaptability can be leveraged to great effect.&nbsp;After being acquired by &nbsp;Hyundai in 2021, the focus will be testing and iterating Atlas applications in manufacturing environments. The company promises that the electric version of Atlas is stronger and has a broader range of motion than previous models.&nbsp;<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-e1_QhJ1EhQ?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0&amp;enablejsapi=1&amp;origin=https://www.wevolver.com" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" data-lf-form-tracking-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-vimeo-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true"></iframe> <h2>NAO by Aldebaran</h2>NAO is an autonomous, programmable humanoid robot originally developed by Aldebaran Robotics. SoftBank Robotics acquired the French company in 2015 and released NAO 3. In July 2022, the company was rebranded Aldebaran again.Nao is available as a research robot for schools, colleges and universities to teach programming as well as conducting research into human-robot interactions. Over 5,000 Nao robots are used in 200+ educational and research institutions in 70 countries. The robots are also used in healthcare scenarios, such as care homes.NAO6, the latest version, features 25 degrees of freedom and an inertial measurement unit with an accelerometer, gyroscope, and four ultrasonic sensors that support NAO with stability and movement. The robots are also equipped with seven touch sensors to perceive their environment and their speech recognition is available in 20 languages. The robot also has 5G capabilities.&nbsp;<img border="0" width="624" src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1719036519109-1719036519109.png" class="fr-fic fr-dii">From supporting the education of autistic children to helping train International Space Station astronauts and assisting elderly patients in care homes, NAO robots have been integrated into education and healthcare applications. Credit:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aldebaran.com/de/nao" target="_blank">Aldebaran</a><h2>Ameca by Engineered Arts</h2>Ameca, first developed by Engineered Arts in February 2021, is currently the most advanced human-shaped robot in the market, developed specifically for human-robot interaction. They are modular, upgradable, and easy to develop upon.With embedded microphones, binocular eye-mounted cameras, a chest camera, &nbsp;and facial recognition software, Ameca's interactions with the public work by GPT-3 or human telepresence. It also has motorized arms, fingers, neck, and facial features on grey rubber skin, designed to appear genderless. Engineered Arts has developed their own hardware, based on proprietory research into humanoid robotics, and built with their Mesmer technology, a system focused on powerful, cost-effective, and realistic humanoid robots.Ameca is currently associated with the Museum of the Future in Dubai (UEA), where people can interact with it.&nbsp;<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/651929733" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" data-lf-form-tracking-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-vimeo-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true"></iframe> <h2>Technology Overview&nbsp;</h2>&nbsp;<table border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="632"><tbody><tr><td width="12.341772151898734%" valign="bottom">Robot</td><td width="13.291139240506329%" valign="bottom">Company/Creator</td><td width="11.550632911392405%" valign="bottom">Vision &amp; Goal</td><td width="13.132911392405063%" valign="bottom">Materials</td><td width="17.088607594936708%" valign="bottom">AI Capabilities &amp; Technology</td><td width="16.139240506329113%" valign="bottom">Applications</td><td width="16.455696202531644%" valign="bottom">Command &amp; Agility</td></tr><tr><td width="12.341772151898734%">Optimus</td><td width="13.291139240506329%">Tesla&nbsp;</td><td width="11.550632911392405%">Replace humans in manufacturing operations for repetitive and dangerous tasks</td><td width="13.132911392405063%">Polyether Ether Ketone (PEEK)</td><td width="17.088607594936708%">Tesla-designed actuators and sensors</td><td width="16.139240506329113%">Manufacturing support and training</td><td width="16.455696202531644%">Carrying capacity of 20kg, can dance, boil eggs, do squats</td></tr><tr><td width="12.341772151898734%">Atlas</td><td width="13.291139240506329%">Boston Dynamics</td><td width="11.550632911392405%">Navigate and manipulate environments with human-like agility</td><td width="13.132911392405063%">Titanium and aluminum&nbsp;</td><td width="17.088607594936708%">Precise navigation, execution of complex tasks in varied terrains</td><td width="16.139240506329113%">Search and rescue, exploration, logistics</td><td width="16.455696202531644%">Responsive to commands, capable of running, jumping, performing backflips</td></tr><tr><td width="12.341772151898734%">NAO</td><td width="13.291139240506329%">Aldebaran</td><td width="11.550632911392405%">Human interaction and educational support</td><td width="13.132911392405063%">Polycarbonate-ABS plastic, polyamide, and carbon-fiber-reinforced thermoplastic</td><td width="17.088607594936708%">Conversational AI, personalized interaction based on facial recognition, collect information&nbsp;</td><td width="16.139240506329113%">Education, research, healthcare</td><td width="16.455696202531644%">Walk, dance, speak, and recognize faces and objects</td></tr><tr><td width="12.341772151898734%">Ameca</td><td width="13.291139240506329%">Engineered Arts</td><td width="11.550632911392405%">Development platform for testing AI and machine learning systems</td><td width="13.132911392405063%">Mesmer technology</td><td width="17.088607594936708%">Process complex data, recognize faces, comprehend speech, and adapt to different scenarios</td><td width="16.139240506329113%">Human interaction, a platform for developing AI</td><td width="16.455696202531644%">Advanced facial expression and human-like interactions</td></tr></tbody></table>&nbsp;<h2>Conclusion: The Pioneers of Humanoid Robotics - A Unified Perspective</h2>The exploration of Optimus, Atlas, NAO, and Ameca highlights the remarkable journey and achievements in humanoid robotics. Each robot, distinct in its capabilities and applications, contributes uniquely to the field. From Ameca's social interactions to Atlas's agility, NAO's educational support, and Optimus's manufacturing utility, these pioneers embody the diverse potential of robotics.Their materiality and design philosophies are tailored to specific applications, showcasing innovation in construction and functionality. The AI and technological advancements across these robots cover a broad spectrum, enabling them to perform tasks ranging from basic interactions to complex, autonomous problem-solving. Their deployment in healthcare, customer service, manufacturing exploration, and emergency response illustrates the expanding role of robotics in meeting intricate human needs.The integration of sophisticated command systems and remarkable agility demonstrates the evolving interface between humans and machines, pushing the boundaries of what humanoid robots can achieve. This unified perspective underlines the transformative impact of humanoid robotics, promising a future where their presence becomes an integral part of daily life and complex problem-solving across various sectors.

Exploring innovations, capabilities, and the future of robotic companions

A quick engineering comparison of cutting-edge humanoid robots

In this episode, we discuss research coming out of Columbia University to better connect humans with robots by having them detect, process, and respond to facial expressions!

Podcast: Finally! A Humanoid Robot You Can Trust

Our muscles are nature’s perfect actuators — devices that turn energy into motion. For their size, muscle fibers are more powerful and precise than most synthetic actuators. They can even heal from damage and grow stronger with exercise.For these reasons, engineers are exploring ways to power robots with natural muscles. They’ve demonstrated a handful of “biohybrid” robots that use muscle-based actuators to power artificial skeletons that walk, swim, pump, and grip. But for every bot, there’s a very different build, and no general blueprint for how to get the most out of muscles for any given robot design.Now, MIT engineers have developed a spring-like device that could be used as a basic skeleton-like module for almost any muscle-bound bot. The new spring, or “flexure,” is designed to get the most work out of any attached muscle tissues. Like a leg press that’s fit with just the right amount of weight, the device maximizes the amount of movement that a muscle can naturally produce.The researchers found that when they fit a ring of muscle tissue onto the device, much like a rubber band stretched around two posts, the muscle pulled on the spring, reliably and repeatedly, and stretched it five times more, compared with other previous device designs.The team sees the flexure design as a new building block that can be combined with other flexures to build any configuration of artificial skeletons. Engineers can then fit the skeletons with muscle tissues to power their movements.“These flexures are like a skeleton that people can now use to turn muscle actuation into multiple degrees of freedom of motion in a very predictable way,” says Ritu Raman, the Brit and Alex d'Arbeloff Career Development Professor in Engineering Design at MIT. “We are giving roboticists a new set of rules to make powerful and precise muscle-powered robots that do interesting things.”Raman and her colleagues report the details of the new flexure design in a&nbsp;<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/aisy.202300834" target="_blank">paper appearing today</a> in the journal&nbsp;Advanced Intelligent&nbsp;Systems. The study’s MIT co-authors include Naomi Lynch ’12, SM ’23; undergraduate Tara Sheehan; graduate students Nicolas Castro, Laura Rosado, and Brandon Rios; and professor of mechanical engineering Martin Culpepper.<h2>Muscle pull</h2>When left alone in a petri dish in favorable conditions, muscle tissue will contract on its own but in directions that are not entirely predictable or of much use.“If muscle is not attached to anything, it will move a lot, but with huge variability, where it’s just flailing around in liquid,” Raman says.To get a muscle to work like a mechanical actuator, engineers typically attach a band of muscle tissue between two small, flexible posts. As the muscle band naturally contracts, it can bend the posts and pull them together, producing some movement that would ideally power part of a robotic skeleton. But in these designs, muscles have produced limited movement, mainly because the tissues are so variable in how they contact the posts. Depending on where the muscles are placed on the posts, and how much of the muscle surface is touching the post, the muscles may succeed in pulling the posts together but at other times may wobble around in uncontrollable ways.Raman’s group looked to design a skeleton that focuses and maximizes a muscle’s contractions regardless of exactly where and how it is placed on a skeleton, to generate the most movement in a predictable, reliable way.“The question is: How do we design a skeleton that most efficiently uses the force the muscle&nbsp;is generating?” Raman says.The researchers first considered the multiple directions that a muscle can naturally move. They reasoned that if a muscle is to pull two posts together along a specific direction, the posts should be connected to a spring that only allows them to move in that direction when pulled.“We need a device that is very soft and flexible in one direction, and very stiff in all other directions, so that when a muscle contracts, all that force gets efficiently converted into motion in one direction,” Raman says.<h2>Soft flex</h2>As it turns out, Raman found many such devices in Professor Martin Culpepper’s lab. Culpepper’s group at MIT specializes in the design and fabrication of machine elements such as miniature actuators, bearings, and other mechanisms, that can be built into machines and systems to enable ultraprecise movement, measurement, and control, for a wide variety of applications. Among the group’s precision machined elements are flexures — spring-like devices, often made from parallel beams, that can flex and stretch with nanometer precision.“Depending on how thin and far apart the beams are, you can change how stiff the spring appears to be,” Raman says.She and Culpepper teamed up to design a flexure specifically tailored with a configuration and stiffness to enable muscle tissue to naturally contract and maximally stretch the spring. The team designed the device’s configuration and dimensions based on numerous calculations they carried out to relate a muscle’s natural forces with a flexure’s stiffness and degree of movement.The flexure they ultimately designed is 1/100 the stiffness of muscle tissue itself. The device resembles a miniature, accordion-like structure, the corners of which are pinned to an underlying base by a small post, which sits near a neighboring post that is fit directly onto the base. Raman then wrapped a band of muscle around the two corner posts (the team molded the bands from live muscle fibers that they grew from mouse cells), and measured how close the posts were pulled together as the muscle band contracted.The team found that the flexure’s configuration enabled the muscle band to contract mostly along the direction between the two posts. This focused contraction allowed the muscle to pull the posts much closer together — five times closer — compared with previous muscle actuator designs.“The flexure is a skeleton that we designed to be very soft and flexible in one direction, and very stiff in all other directions,” Raman says. “When the muscle contracts, all the force is converted into movement in that direction. It’s a huge magnification.”The team found they could use the device to precisely measure muscle performance and endurance. When they varied the frequency of muscle contractions (for instance, stimulating the bands to contract once versus four times per second), they observed that the muscles “grew tired” at higher frequencies, and didn’t generate as much pull.“Looking at how quickly our muscles get tired, and how we can exercise them to have high-endurance responses — this is what we can uncover with this platform,” Raman says.The researchers are now adapting and combining flexures to build precise, articulated, and reliable robots, powered by natural muscles.“An example of a robot we are trying to build in the future is a surgical robot that can perform minimally invasive procedures inside the body,” Raman says. “Technically, muscles can power robots of any size, but we are particularly excited in making small robots, as this is where biological actuators excel in terms of strength, efficiency, and adaptability.”

MIT engineers have developed a new spring (shown in Petri dish) that maximizes the work of natural muscles. When living muscle tissue is attached to posts at the corners of the device, the muscle’s contractions pull on the spring, forming an effective, natural actuator. The spring can serve as a “skeleton” for future muscle-powered robots. Image: Felice Frankel

New modular, spring-like devices maximize the work of live muscle fibers so they can be harnessed to power biohybrid bots.

Engineers design flexible "skeletons" for soft, muscle-powered robots

In this episode, we discuss a breakthrough from ETH Zurich to mimic natural foot signals to the brain using state of the art neuroprosthetics. 

Podcast: Neuroprosthetics: The Next Step Towards Limb Reconstruction

This article was discussed in our <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/profile/the.next.byte" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Next Byte podcast</a>.&nbsp;<iframe height="200px" width="100%" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://player.simplecast.com/f153920a-aca0-4937-863a-2cc925d11434?dark=false" class="fr-draggable" data-gtm-yt-inspected-9="true" data-lf-form-tracking-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-vimeo-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true"></iframe> The full article will continue below.<hr>Columbia engineers build Emo, a silicon-clad robotic face that makes eye contact and uses two AI models to anticipate and replicate a person’s smile before the person actually smiles -- a major advance in robots predicting human facial expressions accurately, improving interactions, and building trust between humans and robots.<section id="isPasted">What would you do if you walked up to a robot with a human-like head and it smiled at you first? You’d likely smile back and perhaps feel the two of you were genuinely interacting. But how does a robot know how to do this? Or a better question, how does it know to get you to smile back?While we’re getting accustomed to robots that are adept at verbal communication, thanks in part to advancements in large language models like ChatGPT, their nonverbal communication skills, especially facial expressions, have lagged far behind. Designing a robot that can not only make a wide range of facial expressions but also know when to use them has been a daunting task.&nbsp;</section><section><h2>Tackling the challenge</h2>The <a href="http://engineering.columbia.edu/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Creative Machines Lab</a> at <a href="http://engineering.columbia.edu/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Columbia Engineering</a> has been working on this challenge for more than five years. In a new study published today in <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scirobotics.adi4724" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Science Robotics</a>, the group unveils Emo, a robot that anticipates facial expressions and executes them simultaneously with a human. It has even learned to predict a forthcoming smile about 840 milliseconds before the person smiles, and to co-express the smile simultaneously with the person.The team, led by <a href="https://www.engineering.columbia.edu/faculty/hod-lipson" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Hod Lipson</a>, a leading researcher in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, faced two challenges: how to mechanically design an expressively versatile robotic face which involves complex hardware and actuation mechanisms, and knowing which expression to generate so that they appear natural, timely, and genuine. The team proposed training a robot to anticipate future facial expressions in humans and execute them simultaneously with a person. The timing of these expressions was critical -- delayed facial mimicry looks disingenuous, but facial co-expression feels more genuine since it requires correctly inferring the human's emotional state for timely execution.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNzExNTg1NTM0ODUxLXl1aGFuZy1odWEtb2YtY3JlYXRpdmUtbWFjaGluZXMtbGFiLWZhY2UtdG8tZmFjZS13aXRoLWVtby5wbmciLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsid2lkdGgiOjk1MCwiZml0IjoiY292ZXIifX19" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Yuhang Hu of Creative Machines Lab face-to-face with Emo. Image: Courtesy of Creative Machines Lab<h2 id="isPasted">How Emo connects with you</h2>Emo is a human-like head with a face that is equipped with 26 actuators that enable a broad range of nuanced facial expressions. The head is covered with a soft silicone skin with a magnetic attachment system, allowing for easy customization and quick maintenance. For more lifelike interactions, the researchers integrated high-resolution cameras within the pupil of each eye, enabling Emo to make eye contact, crucial for nonverbal communication.The team developed two AI models: one that predicts human facial expressions by analyzing subtle changes in the target face and another that generates motor commands using the corresponding facial expressions.To train the robot how to make facial expressions, the researchers put Emo in front of the camera and let it do random movements. After a few hours, the robot learned the relationship between their facial expressions and the motor commands -- much the way humans practice facial expressions by looking in the mirror. This is what the team calls “self modeling” – similar to our human ability to imagine what we look like when we make certain expressions.Then the team ran videos of human facial expressions for Emo to observe them frame by frame. After training, which lasts a few hours, Emo could predict people’s facial expressions by observing tiny changes in their faces as they begin to form an intent to smile.“I think predicting human facial expressions accurately is a revolution in HRI. Traditionally, robots have not been designed to consider humans' expressions during interactions. Now, the robot can integrate human facial expressions as feedback,” said the study’s lead author Yuhang Hu, who is a PhD student at Columbia Engineering in Lipson’s lab. “When a robot makes co-expressions with people in real-time, it not only improves the interaction quality but also helps in building trust between humans and robots. In the future, when interacting with a robot, it will observe and interpret your facial expressions, just like a real person.”<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pWTTzR_wXuQ?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;enablejsapi=1&amp;origin=https://www.wevolver.com" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" data-lf-form-tracking-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-vimeo-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-gtm-yt-inspected-9="true" id="556492795" title="Human-Robot Facial Co-expression">&nbsp;</iframe>Go inside the Creative Machines Lab to watch Emo's facial co-expression. Video Credit: Yuhang Hu, Columbia Engineering<h2 id="isPasted">What’s next</h2>The researchers are now working to integrate verbal communication, using a large language model like ChatGPT into Emo. As robots become more capable of behaving like humans, Lipson is well aware of the ethical considerations associated with this new technology.“Although this capability heralds a plethora of positive applications, ranging from home assistants to educational aids, it is incumbent upon developers and users to exercise prudence and ethical considerations,” says Lipson, James and Sally Scapa Professor of Innovation in the Department of <a href="https://www.me.columbia.edu/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mechanical Engineering</a> at Columbia Engineering, co-director of the <a href="https://make.columbia.edu/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Makerspace</a> at Columbia, and a member of the <a href="https://datascience.columbia.edu/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Data Science Institute</a>. “But it’s also very exciting -- by advancing robots that can interpret and mimic human expressions accurately, we're moving closer to a future where robots can seamlessly integrate into our daily lives, offering companionship, assistance, and even empathy. Imagine a world where interacting with a robot feels as natural and comfortable as talking to a friend.”&nbsp;</section>

The study's lead author, Yuhang Hu, a PhD student at Columbia Engineering in Hod Lipson’s lab. Credit: John Abbott/Columbia Engineering

Columbia engineers build Emo, a silicon-clad robotic face that makes eye contact and uses two AI models to anticipate and replicate a person’s smile before the person actually smiles 

Robot, can you say 'Cheese'?

In this episode, we discuss how CalTech researchers have created bionic jellyfish to help us explore the oceans and better understand the impacts of climate change.

Podcast: Jellyfish Cyborgs Help Explore The Oceans & Solve Climate Change

The digital revolution has undeniably transformed how we access information and complete tasks, with laptops, tablets, and smartphones becoming ubiquitous companions in both our personal and professional lives. While these devices offer undeniable benefits, their constant use can also pose new challenges to our well-being, raising concerns about potential impacts on visual health and musculoskeletal function.One emerging area of concern is the intersection of presbyopia, a natural age-related decline in near vision, and the use of progressive lenses. These lenses, often referred to as 'no-line bifocals', &nbsp;provide wearers with a seamless transition between near and far vision, addressing the challenges of presbyopia. However, research suggests that the way we use progressive lenses, with their specific viewing zones, may subtly alter our head and neck postures, potentially leading to discomfort or even musculoskeletal disorders.To shed light on this issue, FREMAP, a leading Spanish mutual benefit association, embarked on a <a href="https://practicapreventiva.fremap.es/2023/02/09/uso-de-dispositivos-digitales-con-gafas-progresivas/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">research</a> study to objectively assess the impact of progressive lenses on workplace ergonomics. Their primary objective was to quantify the visual and postural changes associated with using these lenses in a typical workstation environment. <img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNzEwODM2NzM4NDQxLWVtaWFwLTEuanBnIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Worker wearing progressive lenses with the Xsens motion capture sensors to analyze postural changesTo achieve this objective, the research team, led by National Ergonomics Consultant at FREMAP Prevention, D. Antonio Emir Díaz Martínez, employed <a href="https://www.movella.com/products/motion-capture" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Xsens Motion Capture technolog</a>y, specifically an upper body configuration with 11 strategically placed inertial sensors. This system was integrated with FREMAP's own ergonomics recording, analysis and representation software, utilizing <a href="https://www.movella.com/products/motion-capture/mvn-analyze" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Xsens Analyze Pro</a> for data processing. This setup allowed for the accurate capture and analysis of human movement and posture data.Antonio Emir Díaz Martínez, commented: "The use of this system allows us to quantify, concisely, precisely, and without interference with normal working conditions, the postural requirements of the cervical spine in workplaces with screens for data visualization. This is thanks to having a software solution that removes the possible interferences caused by local magnetic fields."By leveraging Xsens Motion Capture, the FREMAP researchers were able to quantify the precise head and neck movements associated with using progressive lenses while interacting with a computer screen.The research involved monitoring the grazing and cervical spine movements of a worker wearing progressive glasses while they interacted with a computer workstation. To ensure standardized conditions, the upper part of the screen was positioned at eye level, maintaining a distance of 60 cm from the worker. Additionally, the worker's posture was controlled by having them maintain their back against the chair's backrest and their elbows bent at an angle of approximately 80 degrees.Research Findings and RecommendationsThe analysis revealed that participants maintained consistent neck extension throughout the study, exceeding recommended ergonomic limits. This posture is likely linked to the need to look through the lower portion of progressive lenses for optimal near vision. While neck turning remained within acceptable limits, occasional lateral tilts suggest further ergonomic adjustments may be necessary.Based on the findings, the research makes the following recommendations for progressive lens users.<ul><li>Screen Positioning:&nbsp;Ensure the screen is positioned correctly for optimal viewing. Adjust the viewing distance based on task and screen size (400-750 mm for common office monitors). Consider increasing font size for individuals with progressive lenses to increase viewing distance and minimize reliance on the lower lens segment.</li><li>Screen Height: For progressive lens users, reduce the screen height significantly compared to the standard recommendation of aligning the top of the screen with eye level. This helps avoid neck extension for viewing through the lower lens zone.</li><li>Document Holders: Utilize adjustable lecterns or document holders to facilitate switching between digital and printed materials, minimizing strain on eye accommodation.</li><li>Recovery Breaks:&nbsp;Encourage frequent breaks to rest the eyes and change posture, especially for those wearing progressive lenses.</li><li>Occupational Spectacles: For individuals with presbyopia and prolonged digital device use, consider occupational spectacles specifically designed for computer work.</li><li>Training and Awareness:&nbsp;Educate first-time progressive lens users about adaptation exercises and the importance of adjusting their workstation layout. Encourage them to adopt healthy postural habits and avoid extended periods of static posture at their workstation.</li></ul>By implementing these recommendations, individuals who rely on progressive lenses can create a more ergonomically friendly workspace and potentially mitigate the risks associated with prolonged computer use.This research project by FREMAP provides valuable insights into the potential impact of progressive lenses on workplace ergonomics. By utilizing advanced motion capture technology like Xsens, the study offers a quantifiable and objective perspective on this complex issue. The findings can help inform future research, guide the development of ergonomic interventions, and ultimately contribute to promoting healthy workplace practices for individuals reliant on progressive lenses.Xsens motion capture for ergonomics assessments<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNzEwODM3MDc2NDU2LWVtaWFwLTIuanBnIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Accurate motion data: Xsens Awinda Motion Capture Technology featuring 18 inertial sensorsEnsuring proper workplace ergonomics is crucial for employee well-being, regulatory compliance, and increased productivity. This focus stems from the significant prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), often linked to poor ergonomics, affecting nearly 1.71 billion people globally.However, traditional assessment methods can be time-consuming and rely on subjective observations, potentially hindering accurate risk identification. Xsens Motion capture technology offers a compelling solution. Xsens captures objective and validated data on worker movements, eliminating subjectivity and increasing data collection efficiency. This empowers companies to swiftly identify potential hazards and make informed decisions regarding workplace design and modifications. Ultimately, this fosters safer and more productive workspaces, leading to a thriving and healthy working environment for all.<a href="https://www.movella.com/applications/health-sports/workplace-ergonomics" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Learn more</a> about Xsens solutions for workplace ergonomics.&nbsp;

FREMAP uses Xsens motion capture to analyze the ergonomic impact of progressive lenses in the workplace and makes recommendations for improvement

Ergonomic impact of progressive lenses in the workplace

In this episode, we discuss a novel sticker capable of monitoring the health of organs in real time allowing for more successful organ transplants and catching signs of diseases earlier than ever!

Podcast: Sticker to Monitor Your Internal Organs

This article was discussed in our <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/profile/the.next.byte" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Next Byte podcast</a>.&nbsp;<iframe height="200px" width="100%" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://player.simplecast.com/b5ad041a-a5dc-42cd-900b-390dca184186?dark=false" class="fr-draggable" data-lf-form-tracking-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-vimeo-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true"></iframe> The full article will continue below.<hr>A few years ago, a team of researchers working under Professor Stanisa Raspopovic at the ETH Zurich Neuroengineering Lab gained worldwide attention when they announced that their prosthetic legs had enabled amputees to feel sensations from this artificial body part for the first time. Unlike commercial leg prostheses, which simply provide amputees with stability and support, the ETH researchers’ prosthetic device was connected to the sciatic nerve in the test subjects’ thigh via implanted electrodes.This electrical connection enabled the neuroprosthesis to communicate with the patient’s brain, for example relaying information on the constant changes in pressure detected on the sole of the prosthetic foot when walking. This gave the test subjects greater confidence in their prosthesis – and it enabled them to walk considerably faster on challenging terrains. “Our experimental leg prosthesis succeeded in evoking natural sensations. That’s something current neuroprostheses are mainly unable to do; instead, they mostly evoke artificial, unpleasant sensations,” Raspopovic says.This is probably because today’s neuroprosthetics are using time-constant electrical pulses to stimulate the nervous system. “That’s not only unnatural, but also inefficient,” Raspopovic says. In a recently published paper, he and his team used the example of their leg prostheses to highlight the benefits of using naturally inspired, biomimetic stimulation to develop the next generation of neuroprosthetics.<h2>Model simulates activation of nerves in the sole</h2>To generate these biomimetic signals, Natalija Katic – a doctoral student in Raspopovic’s research group – developed a computer model called FootSim. It is based on data collected by collaborators in Canada, who recorded the activity of natural receptors, named mechanoreceptors, in the sole of the foot while touching different points on the feet of volunteers with a vibrating rod.The model simulates the dynamic behaviour of large numbers of mechanoreceptors in the sole of the foot and generates the neural signals that shoot up the nerves in the leg towards the brain – from the moment the heel strikes the ground and the weight of the body starts to shift forward to the outside of the foot until the toes push off the ground ready for the next step. “Thanks to this model, we can see how semsory receptors from the sole, and the connected nerves, behave during walking or running, which is experimentally impossible to measure” Katic says.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNzA5ODI0NDc4NjY1LWltYWdlLmltYWdlZm9ybWF0LjEyODYuNDg4NzEzNzM4LmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTUwLCJmaXQiOiJjb3ZlciJ9fX0=" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Restoring natural sensory feedback results in functional and cognitive benefits for leg prosthesis users. (Photograph: Pietro Comaschi)Restoring natural sensory feedback results in functional and cognitive benefits for leg prosthesis users.&nbsp;(Photograph: Pietro Comaschi)<h2 id="isPasted">Information overload in the spinal cord</h2>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;To assess how closely the biomimetic signals calculated by the model correspond to the signals emitted by real neurons, Giacomo Valle – a postdoc in Raspopovic’s research group – worked with colleagues in Germany, Serbia and Russia on experiments with cats, whose nervous system processes movement in a similar way to that of humans. The experiments took place in 2019 at the Pavlov Institute of Physiology in St. Petersburg and were carried out in accordance with the relevant European Union guidelines.The researchers implanted electrodes, connecting some to the nerve in the leg and some to the spinal cord to discover how the signals are transmitted through the nervous system. When the researchers applied pressure to the bottom of the cat’s paw, thereby evoking the natural neural response that occurs when a cat takes a step, the peculiar pattern of activity recorded in the spinal cord did indeed resemble the patterns that were elicited in the spinal cord when the researchers stimulated the leg nerve with biomimetic signals.By contrast, the conventional approach of time-constant stimulation of the sciatic nerve in the cat’s thigh elicited a markedly different pattern of activation in the spinal cord. “This clearly shows that the commonly used stimulation methods cause the neural networks in the spine to be flooded with information,” Valle says. “This information overload could be the reason for the unpleasant sensations or paraesthesia reported by some users of neuroprosthetics,” Raspopovic adds.<h2>Learning the language of the nervous system</h2>In their clinical trial with leg amputees, the researchers were able to show that biomimetic stimulation is superior to time-constant stimulation. Their work clearly demonstrated how the signals that mimicked nature produced better results: not only were the test subjects able to climb steps faster, they also made fewer mistakes in a task that required them to climb the same steps while spelling words backwards. “Biomimetic neurostimulation allows subjects to concentrate on other things while walking,” Raspopovic says, “so we concluded that this type of stimulation is more naturally processed and less taxing on the brain.”Raspopovic, whose lab forms part of the ETH Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems, believes that these new findings are not only relevant to the limb prostheses he and his team have been working on for over half a decade. He argues that the need to move away from unnatural, time-constant stimulation towards biomimetic signals also applies to a whole series of other aids and devices, including spinal implants and electrodes for brain stimulation. “We need to learn the language of the nervous system,” Raspopovic says. “Then we’ll be able to communicate with the brain in ways it really understands.”<h2>Information overload in the spinal cord</h2>To assess how closely the biomimetic signals calculated by the model correspond to the signals emitted by real neurons, Giacomo Valle – a postdoc in Raspopovic’s research group – worked with colleagues in Germany, Serbia and Russia on experiments with cats, whose nervous system processes movement in a similar way to that of humans. The experiments took place in 2019 at the Pavlov Institute of Physiology in St. Petersburg and were carried out in accordance with the relevant European Union guidelines.The researchers implanted electrodes, connecting some to the nerve in the leg and some to the spinal cord to discover how the signals are transmitted through the nervous system. When the researchers applied pressure to the bottom of the cat’s paw, thereby evoking the natural neural response that occurs when a cat takes a step, the peculiar pattern of activity recorded in the spinal cord did indeed resemble the patterns that were elicited in the spinal cord when the researchers stimulated the leg nerve with biomimetic signals.By contrast, the conventional approach of time-constant stimulation of the sciatic nerve in the cat’s thigh elicited a markedly different pattern of activation in the spinal cord. “This clearly shows that the commonly used stimulation methods cause the neural networks in the spine to be flooded with information,” Valle says. “This information overload could be the reason for the unpleasant sensations or paraesthesia reported by some users of neuroprosthetics,” Raspopovic adds.<h2>Learning the language of the nervous system</h2>In their clinical trial with leg amputees, the researchers were able to show that biomimetic stimulation is superior to time-constant stimulation. Their work clearly demonstrated how the signals that mimicked nature produced better results: not only were the test subjects able to climb steps faster, they also made fewer mistakes in a task that required them to climb the same steps while spelling words backwards. “Biomimetic neurostimulation allows subjects to concentrate on other things while walking,” Raspopovic says, “so we concluded that this type of stimulation is more naturally processed and less taxing on the brain.”Raspopovic, whose lab forms part of the ETH Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems, believes that these new findings are not only relevant to the limb prostheses he and his team have been working on for over half a decade. He argues that the need to move away from unnatural, time-constant stimulation towards biomimetic signals also applies to a whole series of other aids and devices, including spinal implants and electrodes for brain stimulation. “We need to learn the language of the nervous system,” Raspopovic says. “Then we’ll be able to communicate with the brain in ways it really understands.”<hr><h2 id="isPasted">Reference</h2>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;Valle G, Katic Secerovic N, Eggemann D, Gorskii O, Pavlova N, Petrini FM, Cvancara P, Stieglitz T, Musienko P, Bumbasirevic M, Raspopovic S: Biomimetic computer-to-brain communication enhancing naturalistic touch sensations via peripheral nerve stimulation. Nature Communications, 20 February 2024, doi: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45190-6" target="_blank">external page10.1038/s41467-024-45190-6</a>

ETH researchers have developed a prosthetic leg that communicates with the brain via natural signals. (Photograph: Keystone)

Prostheses that connect to the nervous system have been available for several years. Now, researchers at ETH Zurich have found evidence that neuroprosthetics work better when they use signals that are inspired by nature.

Bio-inspired neuroprosthetics: sending signals the brain can understand

This article was discussed in our <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/profile/the.next.byte" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Next Byte podcast</a>.&nbsp;<iframe height="200px" width="100%" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://player.simplecast.com/18c9c9fd-d774-46bc-87b8-fb1b0e7a5ae4?dark=false" class="fr-draggable" data-gtm-yt-inspected-9="true" data-lf-form-tracking-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-vimeo-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true"></iframe> The full article will continue below.<hr>Jellyfish can't do much besides swim, sting, eat, and breed. They don't even have brains. Yet, these simple creatures can easily journey to the depths of the oceans in a way that humans, despite all our sophistication, cannot.But what if humans could have jellyfish explore the oceans on our behalf, reporting back what they find? New research conducted at Caltech aims to make that a reality through the creation of what researchers call biohybrid robotic jellyfish. These creatures, which can be thought of as ocean-going cyborgs, augment jellyfish with electronics that enhance their swimming and a prosthetic "hat" that can carry a small payload while also making the jellyfish swim in a more streamlined manner.The work, published in the journal Bioinspiration &amp; Biomimetics, was conducted in the lab of John Dabiri (MS '03, PhD '05), the Centennial Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering, and builds on his previous work augmenting jellyfish. Dabiri's goal with this research is to use jellyfish as robotic data-gatherers, sending them into the oceans to collect information about temperature, salinity, and oxygen levels, all of which are affected by Earth's changing climate."It's well known that the ocean is critical for determining our present and future climate on land, and yet, we still know surprisingly little about the ocean, especially away from the surface," Dabiri says. "Our goal is to finally move that needle by taking an unconventional approach inspired by one of the few animals that already successfully explores the entire ocean."<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_ZfthP_7s5g?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0&amp;enablejsapi=1&amp;origin=https://www.wevolver.com" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" data-lf-form-tracking-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-vimeo-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-gtm-yt-inspected-9="true" id="779481107" title="Robotic Jellyfish Explorers">&nbsp;</iframe>Media assets: Robotic Jellyfish ExplorersThroughout his career, Dabiri has looked to the natural world, jellyfish included, for inspiration in solving engineering challenges. This work began with early attempts by Dabiri's lab to develop a mechanical robot that swam like jellyfish, which have the most efficient method for traveling through water of any living creature. Though his research team succeeded in creating such a robot, that robot was never able to swim as efficiently as a real jellyfish. At that point, Dabiri asked himself, why not just work with jellyfish themselves?"Jellyfish are the original ocean explorers, reaching its deepest corners and thriving just as well in tropical or polar waters," Dabiri says. "Since they don't have a brain or the ability to sense pain, we've been able to collaborate with bioethicists to develop this biohybrid robotic application in a way that's ethically principled."Previously, Dabiri's lab implanted jellyfish with a kind of electronic pacemaker that controls the speed at which they swim. In doing so, they found that if they made jellyfish swim faster than the leisurely pace they normally keep, the animals became even more efficient. A jellyfish swimming three times faster than it normally would uses only twice as much energy.This time, the research team went a step further, adding what they call a forebody to the jellies. These forebodies are like hats that sit atop the jellyfish's bell (the mushroom-shaped part of the animal). The devices were designed by graduate student and lead author Simon Anuszczyk (MS '22), who aimed to make the jellyfish more streamlined while also providing a place where sensors and other electronics can be carried."Much like the pointed end of an arrow, we designed 3D-printed forebodies to streamline the bell of the jellyfish robot, reduce drag, and increase swimming performance," Anuszczyk says. "At the same time, we experimented with 3D printing until we were able to carefully balance the buoyancy and keep the jellyfish swimming vertically."To test the augmented jellies' swimming abilities, Dabiri's lab undertook the construction of a massive vertical aquarium inside Caltech's Guggenheim Laboratory. Dabiri explains that the three-story tank is tall, rather than wide, because researchers want to gather data on oceanic conditions far below the surface."In the ocean, the round trip from the surface down to several thousand meters will take a few days for the jellyfish, so we wanted to develop a facility to study that process in the lab," Dabiri says. "Our vertical tank lets the animals swim against a flowing vertical current, like a treadmill for swimmers. We expect the unique scale of the facility—probably the first vertical water treadmill of its kind—to be useful for a variety of other basic and applied research questions."<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNzA5NTIxNzc5NzI4LURhYmlyaS1MYWItTG9uZy1EaXN0YW5jZS1Td2ltbWluZ19Gb3JlYm9keTMubWF4LTE0MDB4ODAwLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTUwLCJmaXQiOiJjb3ZlciJ9fX0=" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">A biohybrid jellyfish descends through the three-story tank in which swimming tests were conducted. Credit: CaltechSwim tests conducted in the tank show that a jellyfish equipped with a combination of the swimming pacemaker and forebody can swim up to 4.5 times faster than an all-natural jelly while carrying a payload. The total cost is about $20 per jellyfish, Dabiri says, which makes biohybrid jellies an attractive alternative to renting a research vessel that can cost more than $50,000 a day to run."By using the jellyfish's natural capacity to withstand extreme pressures in the deep ocean and their ability to power themselves by feeding, our engineering challenge is a lot more manageable," Dabiri adds. "We still need to design the sensor package to withstand the same crushing pressures, but that device is smaller than a softball, making it much easier to design than a full submarine vehicle operating at those depths."I'm really excited to see what we can learn by simply observing these parts of the ocean for the very first time," he adds.Dabiri says future work may focus on further enhancing the bionic jellies' abilities. Right now, they can only be made to swim faster in a straight line, such as the vertical paths being designed for deep ocean measurement. But further research may also make them steerable, so they can be directed horizontally as well as vertically.The paper describing the work, "<a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-3190/ad277f" target="_blank">Electromechanical enhancement of live jellyfish for ocean exploration</a>," appears in the February 28 issue of Bioinspiration &amp; Biomimetics. Co-authors are Anuszczyk and Dabiri.

Jellyfish can't do much besides swim, sting, eat, and breed. They don't even have brains. Yet, these simple creatures can easily journey to the depths of the oceans in a way that humans, despite all our sophistication, cannot.

Building Bionic Jellyfish for Ocean Exploration

In this episode, we discuss the shortcomings of previous attempts at making flexible wearable sensors and how researchers at CalTech have addressed them to create high performance stress sensor stickers.

Stress Sensing Stickers

This article was discussed in our <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/profile/the.next.byte" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Next Byte podcast</a>.&nbsp;<iframe height="200px" width="100%" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://player.simplecast.com/1e9bb08c-384a-4d12-983e-8af2e63c741b?dark=false" class="fr-draggable" data-lf-form-tracking-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-vimeo-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true"></iframe> The full article will continue below.<hr>MIT engineers have developed a small ultrasound sticker that can monitor the stiffness of organs deep inside the body. The sticker, about the size of a postage stamp, can be worn on the skin and is designed to pick up on signs of disease, such as liver and kidney failure and the progression of solid tumors.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNzA3NzI0MzU5MjkzLU1JVC1TZWVpbmdTdGlmZm5lc3MtMDEtcHJlc3NfMC5qcGciLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsid2lkdGgiOjk1MCwiZml0IjoiY292ZXIifX19" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">A small ultrasound sticker, worn on the skin, can monitor the stiffness of organs deep inside the body. The MIT-developed sensor could detect signs of disease such as liver and kidney failure, and the progression of solid tumors. Image: Courtesy of the researchersIn an <a href="https://science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adk8426" target="_blank">open-access study appearing today</a> in Science Advances, the team reports that the sensor can send sound waves through the skin and into the body, where the waves reflect off internal organs and back out to the sticker. The pattern of the reflected waves can be read as a signature of organ rigidity, which the sticker can measure and track.“When some organs undergo disease, they can stiffen over time,” says the senior author of the paper, Xuanhe Zhao, professor of mechanical engineering at MIT. “With this wearable sticker, we can continuously monitor changes in rigidity over long periods of time, which is crucially important for early diagnosis of internal organ failure.”The team has demonstrated that the sticker can continuously monitor the stiffness of organs over 48 hours and detect subtle changes that could signal the progression of disease. In preliminary experiments, the researchers found that the sticky sensor can detect early signs of acute liver failure in rats.The engineers are working to adapt the design for use in humans. They envision that the sticker could be used in intensive care units (ICUs), where the low-profile sensors could continuously monitor patients who are recovering from organ transplants.“We imagine that, just after a liver or kidney transplant, we could adhere this sticker to a patient and observe how the rigidity of the organ changes over days,” lead author Hsiao-Chuan Liu says. “If there is any early diagnosis of acute liver failure, doctors can immediately take action instead of waiting until the condition becomes severe.” Liu was a visiting scientist at MIT at the time of the study and is currently an assistant professor at the University of Southern California.The study’s MIT co-authors include Xiaoyu Chen and Chonghe Wang, along with collaborators at USC.Sensing wobblesLike our muscles, the tissues and organs in our body stiffen as we age. With certain diseases, stiffening organs can become more pronounced, signaling a potentially precipitous health decline. Clinicians currently have ways to measure the stiffness of organs such as the kidneys and liver using ultrasound elastography — a technique similar to ultrasound imaging, in which a technician manipulates a handheld probe or wand over the skin. The probe sends sound waves through the body, which cause internal organs to vibrate slightly and send waves out in return. The probe senses an organ’s induced vibrations, and the pattern of the vibrations can be translated into how wobbly or stiff the organ must be.Ultrasound elastography is typically used in the ICU to monitor patients who have recently undergone an organ transplant. Technicians periodically check in on a patient shortly after surgery to quickly probe the new organ and look for signs of stiffening and potential acute failure or rejection.“After organ transplantation, the first 72 hours is most crucial in the ICU,” says another senior author, Qifa Zhou, a professor at USC. “With traditional ultrasound, you need to hold a probe to the body. But you can’t do this continuously over the long term. Doctors might miss a crucial moment and realize too late that the organ is failing.”The team realized that they might be able to provide a more continuous, wearable alternative. Their solution expands on an <a href="https://news.mit.edu/2022/ultrasound-stickers-0728" target="_blank">ultrasound sticker</a> they previously developed to image deep tissues and organs.“Our imaging sticker picked up on longitudinal waves, whereas this time we wanted to pick up shear waves, which will tell you the rigidity of the organ,” Zhao explains.Existing ultrasound elastrography probes measure shear waves, or an organ’s vibration in response to sonic impulses. The faster a shear wave travels in the organ, the stiffer the organ is interpreted to be. (Think of the bounce-back of a water balloon compared to a soccer ball.)The team looked to miniaturize ultrasound elastography to fit on a stamp-sized sticker. They also aimed to retain the same sensitivity of commercial hand-held probes, which typically incorporate about 128 piezoelectric transducers, each of which transforms an incoming electric field into outgoing sound waves.“We used advanced fabrication techniques to cut small transducers from high-quality piezoelectric materials that allowed us to design miniaturized ultrasound stickers,” Zhou says.The researchers precisely fabricated 128 miniature transducers that they incorporated onto a 25-millimeter-square chip. They lined the chip’s underside with an adhesive made from hydrogel — a sticky and stretchy material that is a mixture of water and polymer, which allows sound waves to travel into and out of the device almost without loss.In preliminary experiments, the team tested the stiffness-sensing sticker in rats. They found that the stickers were able to take continuous measurements of liver stiffness over 48 hours. From the sticker’s collected data, the researchers observed clear and early signs of acute liver failure, which they later confirmed with tissue samples.“Once liver goes into failure, the organ will increase in rigidity by multiple times,” Liu notes.“You can go from a healthy liver as wobbly as a soft-boiled egg, to a diseased liver that is more like a hard-boiled egg,” Zhao adds. “And this sticker can pick up on those differences deep inside the body and provide an alert when organ failure occurs.”The team is working with clinicians to adapt the sticker for use in patients recovering from organ transplants in the ICU. In that scenario, they don’t anticipate much change to the sticker’s current design, as it can be stuck to a patient’s skin, and any sound waves that it sends and receives can be delivered and collected by electronics that connect to the sticker, similar to electrodes and EKG machines in a doctor’s office.“The real beauty of this system is that since it is now wearable, it would allow low-weight, conformable, and sustained monitoring over time,” says Shrike Zhang,&nbsp;an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and associate bioengineer at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, who was not involved with the study. “This would likely not only allow patients to suffer less while achieving prolonged, almost real-time monitoring of their disease progression, but also free trained hospital personnel to other important tasks.”The researchers are also hoping to work the sticker into a more portable, self-enclosed version, where all its accompanying electronics and processing is miniaturized to fit into a slightly larger patch. Then, they envision that the sticker could be worn by patients at home, to continuously monitor conditions over longer periods, such as the progression of solid tumors, which are known to harden with severity.“We believe this is a life-saving technology platform,” Zhao says. “In the future, we think that people can adhere a few stickers to their body to measure many vital signals, and image and track the health of major organs in the body.”

“We used advanced fabrication techniques to cut small transducers from high-quality piezoelectric materials that allowed us to design miniaturized ultrasound stickers,” Xuanhe Zhao, professor of mechanical engineering at MIT, says. Image: Courtesy of the researchers

The sticky, wearable sensor could help identify early signs of acute liver failure.

This ultrasound sticker senses changing stiffness of deep internal organs

Caltech-Fri Jun 30 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0200 (Central European Summer Time)

Caltech-Mon Jul 31 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

Caltech-Thu Aug 31 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

Caltech-Thu Aug 31 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0200 (Central European Summer Time)

Caltech-Sat Sep 30 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

Dessa-Fri Jun 30 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0200 (Central European Summer Time)

Dessa-Mon Jul 31 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

Dessa-Thu Aug 31 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

Dessa-Thu Aug 31 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0200 (Central European Summer Time)

Dessa-Sat Sep 30 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

NEURA Robotics-Fri Jun 30 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0200 (Central European Summer Time)

NEURA Robotics-Mon Jul 31 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

NEURA Robotics-Thu Aug 31 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

NEURA Robotics-Thu Aug 31 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0200 (Central European Summer Time)

NEURA Robotics-Sat Sep 30 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

PEK AUTOMOTIVE-Fri Jun 30 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0200 (Central European Summer Time)

PEK AUTOMOTIVE-Mon Jul 31 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

PEK AUTOMOTIVE-Thu Aug 31 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

PEK AUTOMOTIVE-Thu Aug 31 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0200 (Central European Summer Time)

PEK AUTOMOTIVE-Sat Sep 30 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

Alif Semiconductor-Fri Jun 30 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0200 (Central European Summer Time)

Alif Semiconductor-Mon Jul 31 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

Alif Semiconductor-Thu Aug 31 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

Alif Semiconductor-Thu Aug 31 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0200 (Central European Summer Time)

Alif Semiconductor-Sat Sep 30 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

CompScience-Fri Jun 30 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0200 (Central European Summer Time)

CompScience-Mon Jul 31 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

CompScience-Thu Aug 31 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

CompScience-Thu Aug 31 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0200 (Central European Summer Time)

CompScience-Sat Sep 30 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

NAVER LABS Europe-Fri Jun 30 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0200 (Central European Summer Time)

NAVER LABS Europe-Mon Jul 31 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

NAVER LABS Europe-Thu Aug 31 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

NAVER LABS Europe-Thu Aug 31 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0200 (Central European Summer Time)

NAVER LABS Europe-Sat Sep 30 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

Penn State-Fri Jun 30 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0200 (Central European Summer Time)

Penn State-Mon Jul 31 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

Penn State-Thu Aug 31 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

Penn State-Thu Aug 31 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0200 (Central European Summer Time)

Penn State-Sat Sep 30 2023 23:59:59 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

Humanoids

Humanoids

Profiles