AWKWARD ZOMBIE

Sounds like particle weapons are becoming a reality.

The bullet's days are numbered.

I'm afraid that might still be a while, as this particular laser can only fire for a trillionth of a second, and even then it needs to build up and store energy before firing.

Yeah, when portable power cells (or similar) which can hold the required amount of energy/charge become a reality is when we'll see ray guns and stuff happening for real.

But this kind of thing could potentially be adapted for military use - maybe a satellite weapon or a large mobile tank of some description.

Would be cool. There is already an example of directed-energy base weaponry being actively used in the military actually, but it's no as cool as a lasercannon unfortunately.

I for one welcome our new robot overlords.

So I'm now scorning all of my childhood memories of cartoon characters flying through Aurora Borealis upon realization that touching the plasma in them would cause them to get some sick burns.

But then again they're flying and it's also a cartoon.

Awesome, I'd love to see that kind of technology applied in prosthetics.

Oh man that's amazing.

I kind of wonder whether or not the "phantom limb" phenomenon would be applicable to prosthetics. Basically, it's where an amputee continues to feel a lost limb when it's gone. If a prosthetic were to be fitted in its place, maybe this phenomenon could be made to work for it? As in, they experience the phenomenon, move the "limb," and the prosthetic moves with it.

The phantom limb things, isn't it because whoever lost said limb still have some of the nerves in their arm/wherever they lost the limb?

yes. nerve based prosthetics are in testing (and limited production) and having that phantom limb effect makes use of the limb easier to learn.

Todays issue with prosthetics aren't from the motors or servos. It is actually transmitting what the motors and servos should do and giving feedback. One could use the nerve endings to control them, but you tell me how?

I guess the same way your nerve endings control your muscles I guess? Giving the impulse that would tell muscle x in your hand the command to flex makes the according motor in the prosthetic limb move. Achieving that is probably super hard.

I don't know how. I can envision, but I don't have the knowledge to understand how to bring about the idea.

Though from what Stranaton said it sounds like more capable minds than I are hard at work on solving that issue.

tell a patient to think about moving his/her arm
record nerve activity
repeat several thousand times
then program a microchip to read the correct nerve activity and give instructions to the motors.

also a servo is a motor.


the current research is about how to eliminate the computer and wire the motor controller into the arm nerves themselves.