DARPA Funds Neurophotonics Center to Develop Fiber-Optic Link Between Brain and Prosthetics
A Neurophotonic Interface SMU With some help from DARPA, researchers at Southern Methodist University may soon establish a lightning-fast two-way fiber optic connection between the brain and prosthetic limbs. Working with $5.6 million in DARPA funding, the Neurophotonics Research Center has a singular goal: build a biocompatible fiber optic sensor scaled down to carry individual nerve signals to and from the brain. The ultimate objective is nothing less than the "Skywalker hand," prosthetics that interface seamlessly with the brain like real limbs. DARPA (and others) have pursued such technology actively for years, but while strides have been made modern prosthetics are still a long way from even closely mimicking the feeling of a real limb. Most "robotic" prosthetics simply connect to healthy tissue to trigger movement in the limb - for instance, connecting a prosthetic arm to healthy chest muscle that the user then clenches to manipulate the hand - which...