Thalmic Labs’s Myo Armband, which lets you control various devices by gesture, has been recognized from the beginning as a device with great potential. There are now apps to control electronic devices and services such as drones, Netflix, iTunes, keyboards, computer screens, and menus by hand and arm gestures. It’s not quite full Internet access by gesture and VR that Keanu Reeves enjoys in Johnny Mnemonic, but it’s still pretty cool.
Now Johns Hopkins is using the Armband in the development and use of prosthetic limbs. The technology translates skeletal muscle movement into a game controller can also be used to control a prosthetic arm more naturally. Since it works wirelessly, it doesn’t require implanting electrodes in a patient, who needs only to wear the band on his arm above the prosthetic.
“The project has been a great stride forward in integrating Myo with prosthetics,” said Stephen Lake, CEO and co-founder of Thalmic Labs. “We’re very excited to see what further research and more people looking at this area do with Myo, especially in the area of prosthetics.”