R3b Can modern prosthetics actually help reclaim the sense of touch

In the previous video (3a), we learn about using thoughts/intentions to power a prosthetic arm. The technology featured in this video, tries to take a step forward to incorporate what additional information to guide movement?

They tried to incorporate the sense of touch. The reporter mentions that a hand is useless without having the sense of touch. By incorporating the sense of touch they are able to feel certain objects and restore their lives to nearly the state it was before.

What are the two main problems in making a prosthetic that gives a person sensory information from “touch”?

It is difficult to navigate through the idea of sensory perception. This means the technology available must be able to communicate to the brain that certain actions are happening and is able to translate the following sequence to sensory information. The sensors that are being used must be able to precisely detect pressure and be able to relay that to the brain. Technology is very limited while an actual arm has 10,000 nerve endings, the technology can only provide 10.

How does the device “worn” by Igor work?

Igor has electrodes placed on certain nerve bundles in his arm. The arm itself has pressure sensors in order to detect the objects he is interacting with. The sensors then relay this information to the electrodes in which it sends signals to the nerve bundles they are attached to, which is the Ulnar Nerve, Median Nerve, and Radial Nerve. Then those signals are transmitted to the brain to be processed.

What is the goal of the work done by V. Santos.

They are interested in developing the concept of artificial haptic intelligence in a way where human can use this technology to benefit them