Implanted Electrodes Help Paralysed Patients Walk

Two paralysed patients have been able to walk short distances and even climb stairs once more after being implanted with electrodes in their brains. Both had catastrophic spinal injuries that meant they relied on a wheelchair before the operation.

Surgeons used deep brain stimulation to re-awaken dormant nerve fibres in the spinal cord and re-establish control of the leg muscles. The breakthrough came after neuroscientists at the EPFL used AI to map all the neurons in the brain involved in helping rats and mice walk.

More information:

https://news.sky.com/story/paralysed-patients-able-to-walk-after-having-electrodes-implanted-in-their-brains-13265412

Drones with Legs

RAVEN (Robotic Avian-inspired Vehicle for multiple ENvironments) drone, with its bird-inspired legs, can do jumping takeoffs just like crows do, and can use those same legs to get around on the ground pretty well. The drone’s bird-inspired legs adopted some key principles of biological design like the ability to store and release energy in tendon-like springs along with some flexible toes. Multifunctional legs bring RAVEN much closer to birds, and although these mechanical legs are not nearly as complex and capable as actual bird legs, adopting some key principles of biological design allows RAVEN to get around in a very bird-like way.

RAVEN is approximately the size of a crow, with a wingspan of 100 centimeters and a body length of 50 cm. It can walk a meter in just under four seconds, hop over 12 cm gaps, and jump into the top of a 26 cm obstacle. For the jumping takeoff, RAVEN’s legs propel the drone to a starting altitude of nearly half a meter, with a forward velocity of 2.2 m/s. RAVEN’s a 620-gram drone of which a full 230 grams consists of feet and toes and actuators and whatnot. A vision system that could be used for both obstacle avoidance and landing is in the works, as are wings that can fold to allow the drone to pass through narrow gaps.

More information:

https://spectrum.ieee.org/bird-drone

Drone Navigation From Stars

A surge in GPS jamming attacks in drone warfare has inspired Australian researchers to develop a celestial navigation system that uses visual data from stars rather than relying on the global positioning system. Remote sensing engineers from the University of South Australia have combined celestial navigation with vision-based technology to provide an alternative means of nighttime navigation in environments where GPS is unavailable or unreliable.

The lightweight, affordable celestial navigation system can be integrated into standard drones, offering a dependable backup with impressive accuracy. The system relies on an algorithm that uses visual data from stars and processes it through standard autopilot systems. Testing on a fixed-wing drone demonstrated accurate positioning within four kilometres. By relying on passive celestial navigation rather than radio frequency GNSS signals, drones are resistant to jamming.

More information:

https://www.unisa.edu.au/media-centre/Releases/2024/gps-alternative-for-drone-navigation-using-visual-data-from-stars/