Imagine being able to control not just your own limbs, but also additional robotic ones. It may sound like something out of a science fiction movie, but recent research suggests that it’s not as far-fetched as it seems.
In a groundbreaking study, researchers from an Anglo-Australian collaboration gave participants the ability to control extra limbs alongside their own. The results were surprising – the subjects quickly adapted to this new form of multitasking.
Dr. Ekaterina Ivanova of Queen Mary University explains, “Many tasks in daily life, such as opening a door while carrying a big package, require more than two hands. Supernumerary robotic arms have been proposed as a way to allow people to do these tasks more easily, but until now, it was not clear how easy they would be to use.”
To test the feasibility of controlling multiple limbs, the researchers had participants play a computer game that required the operation of three effectors. Two effectors were controlled using hand controls, while the third was controlled using a foot control. Some participants received training sessions, while others collaborated with a partner who operated the third effector.
Surprisingly, both groups performed equally well, indicating that it only took an hour to learn how to effectively use the virtual third arm. This has promising implications for the development of supernumerary robotic arms, which could assist people in various tasks such as surgery, industrial work, or rehabilitation.
The study, published in the IEEE Open Journal of Engineering, highlights the potential of this technology and its wide-ranging applications.
