ACADEMIC RESEARCH
Monkeys Consciously Control A Robot Arm Using Only Brain Signals
October 19, 2008 10:26 PM EST - submitted by Daniel Shope
Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have taught rhesus monkeys to consciously control the movement of a robot arm in real time, using only signals from their brains and visual feedback on a video screen. The scientists said that the animals appeared to operate the robot arm as if it were their own limb.

ACADEMIC RESEARCH
Researchers create wirelessly-powered robot swarm
October 18, 2008 11:52 AM EST - submitted by Daniel Shope
Wireless power has come a long way from Nikola Tesla's early ruminations on the matter, and it looks like some researchers from Duke and Georgia Tech are now taking the idea to its logical, robot-powering conclusion. While their setup (thankfully) isn't yet able to power robots beyond the confines of the Q L-C resonator-equipped table, it does appear to work remarkably well in that limited proof-of-concept, with five bots each equipped with a non-resonant pickup coil able to follow a path around the table, or simply sit still to recharge their batteries.

ACADEMIC RESEARCH
MIT wheelchair steers clear with Wi-Fi
October 18, 2008 11:51 AM EST - submitted by Daniel Shope
A group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has invented a wheelchair with all the self-navigating abilities of a GPS device. Only instead of being inhibited by the need for a satellite signal like a GPS device, MIT said Friday, the location-aware wheelchair uses Wi-Fi and can work indoors.