Artificial Legs controlled by Thought, Better Mobile Performance and the first Robot Suicide

July 4

This week we examine an artificial leg that is controlled by the mind letting the user have smoother and more natural control. We discover a better way to block conflicting wireless signals for mobile devices. This should lead to better quality calls, particularly for video calls. We investigate what appears to be the first robot suicide and on a brighter note we catch up with developments in autonomous vehicles. The laws are finally being agreed on in preparation for a global roll out in the coming years. Finally we answer the question, which is safer; a human driver or an autonomous vehicle?

Artificial Legs controlled by Thought

A team at MIT have developed a neural interface that allows a user to control their artificial leg with their mind. The leg is fully controlled by the brain and spinal cord and enables users to walk 41% faster than those with standard robotic legs.

Most artificial limbs rely on preset algorithms to drive movement. These algorithms can be automatically switched between preset modes for various walking conditions. These limbs have allowed users to walk, run and climb stairs however the algorithm, rather than the user controls movement of the leg.

The team developed an interface that allows the user to control the artificial leg via signals from the nerves and muscles that remain after amputation. A clinical trial had 7 participants with below the knee amputations undergo surgery to link together pairs of muscles in the residual sections of their legs. Called an agonist-antagonist myoneural interface (AMI) it aims to recreate the natural muscle movements where the contraction of one muscle stretches another. This helps to reduce pain and preserve muscle mass.

The limb includes an ankle embedded with sensors combined with electrodes that are attached to the surface of the skin. These sensors and electrodes capture signals produced by the muscles at the amputation site and send them to a small computer to be decoded. The leg weighs 2.75kg, similar to the weight of an average lower limb.

Users found that they had better balance and ability to change speeds, climb stairs and step over obstacles. They achieved natural gait patterns where the brain was 100% in control. Even though the limb is made of titanium and silicon it felt natural to users. The team is now working on replacing surface electrodes with implanted magnetic spheres that can more accurately track muscle movements.

Better Mobile Device Performance

There is a rapidly growing number of wireless devices that are trying to connect in increasingly crowded airways. This makes the ability to block signals that interfere with your reception more difficult.

A team at MIT have demonstrated a new millimeter wave multiple input output (MIMO) wireless receiver architecture that can handle stronger spacial interference than other designs. 5G uses millimeter wave technology. MIMO systems have multiple antennas enabling them to transmit and receive signals from different directions.

The MIT receiver senses and blocks spacial interference at the earliest possible opportunity. This happens before unwanted signals can be amplified. A unique circuit known as a nonreciprocal phase shifter targets and cancels unwanted signals. By making it low power, compact and reconfigurable; the circuit is able to cancel out interference earlier in the receiver chain.

The receiver can block up to four times more interference than similar devices. The blocking components can be turned off and on to save power. The team demonstrated the device on a 3.2mm square chip. The team is now working on devices that work in the frequency ranges used by 6G devices as well as adapting the technology to other applications.

Robot Suicide

Gumi City Council in South Korea has announced that their first administrative officer robot was no longer operational after it threw itself down a set of stairs. They are calling it the first robot suicide. Shortly prior to the incident the robot was seen circling in one spot.

The robot helped with daily document deliveries, city promotion and delivered information to local residents. The robot had started working for the City Council in August 2023. Produced by Bear Robotics in California the robot worked from 9am to 6pm and had its’ own civil service officer card. The robot could call an elevator and work on different floors.

South Korea has the highest penetration of robots in the world with one industrial robot for every 10 employees. Bear Robotics have collected all the pieces of the robot and are examining them to try and find a cause.

Self Driving Cars Update

It is taking longer than initially anticipated to roll out fully autonomous vehicles. They do exist in several cities and the roll out will continue to the rest of the world. This week we look at a couple of updates that will give us an idea of the challenges that still confront us.

The Law

Surprisingly the Laws governing Fully Autonomous Vehicles may arrive before the cars themselves are driving in cities the world over. When have we ever enacted laws before they are needed?

The World Forum for Harmonisation of Vehicle Regulations (part of the UN) meets three times a year in Geneva to bring together countries, carmakers and technology companies. This forum shapes the legal framework for inland transport.

The initial UN regulations for driver control assistance systems were adopted in February this year and come into force in September. The group is planning to have a globally harmonized regulation on Automated Driving Systems ready for mid 2026. Individual countries will then be required to pass the appropriate laws for their situation.

Which is safer: Human Driver or Autonomous Vehicle?

The current answer is, it depends upon the situation. A team at the University of Central Florida has found that autonomous vehicles are safer than those driven by humans except under two conditions. Those conditions are when driving at dawn/dusk and when turning.

The team looked at data from California for 2,100 autonomous vehicles (which have driven millions of miles from a range of manufacturers) and 35,113 human driven vehicles and compared crash rates under different scenarios.

Low light conditions at dawn and sunset appeared to confuse the autonomous vehicle sensors. Accidents where the sun was low and shining directly into the autonomous vehicle’s path have also been reported. The vehicle appeared to have problems with spotting hazards directly in front of them in those conditions. The complicated conditions that can arise during turning situations can also confuse the vehicle sensors.

This research will give vehicle makers the areas that they need to focus on before autonomous vehicles can become the norm on public roads globally. There are approximately 1.2 million road deaths globally each year with an additional 50 million people injured. We can do better and (eventually) autonomous vehicles will help significantly reduce the road toll.

Paying it Forward

If you have a start-up or know of a start-up that has a product ready for market please let me know. I would be happy to have a look and feature the startup in this newsletter. Also if any startups need introductions please get in touch and I will help where I can.

If you have any questions or comments please comment below.

I would also appreciate it if you could forward this newsletter to anyone that you think might be interested.

Till next week.