Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Shortly before 5pm local time on 12 June 2014, a young paraplegic Brazilian will stand up from a wheelchair, walk over to midfield, and take the first kick of the 2014 World Cup

Long time readers know Dr., Dr. Nicolelis is a bit of a showman.
And probably going to win the Medicine or Physiology Nobel.
From the Guardian:

Mind-controlled robotic suit to debut at World Cup 2014
Paraplegic Brazilian will don exoskeleton to kick off tournament in first public display of possible wheelchair replacement
Shortly before 5pm local time on 12 June at Arena Corinthians in São Paulo, a young paraplegic Brazilian will stand up from a wheelchair, walk over to midfield, and take the first kick of the 2014 World Cup.

For those hoping for miracles at football's greatest tournament, the scene may be the closest they get to witnessing one. For Miguel Nicolelis, a neuroengineer based at Duke University in North Carolina, the moment demands faith of another kind. As hundreds of millions tune in for the opening match, they will see the first public demonstration of technology he claims will turn wheelchairs into museum pieces.

The technology in question is a mind-controlled robotic exoskeleton. The complex and conspicuous robotic suit, built from lightweight alloys and powered by hydraulics, has a simple enough function. When a paraplegic person straps themselves in, the machine does the job that their leg muscles no longer can.
The exoskeleton is the culmination of years of work by an international team of scientists and engineers on the Walk Again project. The robotics work was coordinated by Gordon Cheng at the Technical University in Munich, and French researchers built the exoskeleton. Nicolelis's team focused on ways to read people's brain waves, and use those signals to control robotic limbs.

On Tuesday, the team launches a Facebook page that will document the project in the days leading up to the World Cup. A dedicated website is due to go live later this week....MORE
*M.D., PhD, hence the double Doc.

Previously:
Nov. 6, 2013
Huh, The Brain/Machine Interface Biz Made Some Progress Last Month
September 17, 2013 
Where In the World Is Izabella Kaminska?--"Scientist Hacks Into Another Scientist's Mind"
March 2, 2013 
Update: Not Everyone is Impressed With Dr. Miguel Nicolelis' Latest Intercontinental Mind-Meld
Feb. 23, 2013 
Maybe He Didn't See the Part Where the Monkey Controlled a Robot on the Other Side of the World With Its Little Monkey Brain 
Feb. 21, 2013
UPDATED--"A leading neuroscientist says Kurzweil’s Singularity isn’t going to happen...."
Feb. 8, 2013
"In Scientific First, Researchers Link Two Rats' Brains via Computer" (What's next, the paralyzed walk?)