Masahiko Inami’s team at the University of Tokyo has developed robot arms aimed at unlocking creativity. Their work is rooted in the concept of “jizai,” which refers to the freedom of movement and flexibility in design.
What would society look like if cyborg body parts were freely available for use like roadside rental bicycles? Masahiko Inami’s team at the University of Tokyo have sought to find out by creating wearable robotic arms. (Source: Reuters)
Inami’s team is developing a series of technologies rooted in the idea of “jizai”, a Japanese term that he says roughly denotes autonomy and the freedom to do as one pleases. The aim is to foster something like the relationship between musician and instrument, “lying somewhere between a human and a tool, like how a musical instrument can become as if a part of your body.” (Source: Reuters)
Inami says he was inspired by traditional Japanese puppetry and a quasi-horror short story by novelist Yasunari Kawabata about a man who borrows a young woman’s arm and proceeds to spend the night with it. “This is absolutely not a rival to human beings, but rather something that helps us do as we please, like a bicycle or e-bike. It supports us and can unlock creativity,” Inami said. (Source: Reuters)
A new paper titled ‘Cytoelectric Coupling’ by researchers at MIT, City University of London, and Johns Hopkins University is a groundbreaking hypothesis on how our brains function.