World-famous movie critic Roger Ebert lost his ability to speak, eat or drink when he was treated for thyroid cancer and had his jaw removed in 2006. Now, a Scottish company called CereProc has literally given Ebert his voice back via software that uses old recordings of his voice to determine speech patterns and how [...]
Posts under ‘New Abilities’
Google takes a shot at a “universal translator”
The “universal translator” is a crucial plot device in science fiction, giving aliens from far off worlds the ability to, at least from the perspective of the protagonists and audience, speak perfect English. They’re what enable a multi-species crew to effectively serve together on the Enterprise. The “babel fish” enabled Arthur Dent to understand the many [...]
New powered exoskeleton helps paraplegics walk
ABC’s Good Morning America has been running some interesting medical technology stories this week, but this one in particular caught my eye. An Israeli company demonstrated a powered exoskeleton called ReWalk that can be used to help wheelchair-bound individuals walk upright, even up stairs: ReWalk is a lightweight device comprised of an upper body harness, [...]
Eat your heart out, Spidey: New adhesive device could enable humans to climb walls, ceilings
Researchers at Cornell University have discovered a new adhesive device that may one day literally enable people to climb walls – ala everyone’s Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. Instead of the titular spider, however, these scientists took their inspiration from a particular beetle native to Florida, which can “adhere to a leaf with a force 100 times [...]