Scientists Create Third Robotic Arm You Can Control With Your Diaphragm

Scientists have developed a third ‘robotic arm’ that can be controlled using the diaphragm. The research helps pave the way for a future where humans could use augmented robotic limbs to perform tasks of which we were previously unable to perform. Neuroengineer Silvestro Micera of the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) has published a new study in Science Robotics. His team report how movement can be monitored for successful control of an extra arm, essentially augmenting a healthy individual with a robotic third arm. Micera believes that exploring the cognitive limitations of third-arm control may actually provide gateways towards better understanding of the human brain. The researchers first built a virtual environment to test a healthy user’s capacity to control a virtual arm using movement of his or her diaphragm. The researchers also successfully tested diaphragm control with an actual robotic arm, a simplified one that consists of a rod that can be extended out, and back in. Besides the diaphragm, but not reported in the study, vestigial ear muscles have also been tested for feasibility in controlling the third arm.