Turkish science aims to return amputees' sense of touch | Science & Technology | Worldbulletin News
A team of Turkish scientists are moving closer to developing an innovative remote sensory system that could drastically improve the way human operators control robots involved in tasks like mine disposal and microsurgery, it was announced Wednesday.
The researchers from Yildiz Technical University in Istanbul are developing technology that will allow human operators to manipulate delicate robots using not just cameras but sensor-laden gloves that allow them to 'feel' what the robot is touching.
"We are realizing a great human dream," Dr Utku Buyuksahin said. "Big sensors were needed before for similar work but interestingly we found that we will be able to map human sensation with far fewer sensors, realizable with the technology we already have."
This 'tactile sensing' in robots and other devices has been widely investigated over the past 30 years but has always proved too bulky for widespread use. In pending patents, Buyuksahin and his team hope to have a technology that can re-establish a sense of touch for people with artificial limbs or loss of skin sensitivity within two years.
In the case of amputees, that will mean linking the brain to a system of sensors on a pad inserted under the 'skin' of their prosthetic limb, said Buyuksahin, a prominent mechatronics engineer with the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey.
His team can already implant more than 1 million sensors into a square centimeter but only 241 sensors are needed per square centimeter to produce a sensation of touch.
Until then, the remote sensing and refined touch capability can be put to use by creating robots that can be operated with a much higher degree of sensitivity.
'Solar-powered donkeys' carry Internet for Turkish sheepherders - SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
A solar panel producer in western Turkey has said recent international media coverage of their
"plug-and-play donkey" project proved that they are on the right track.
BBC News reported on June 24 that sheepherders in western Turkey have now equipped their donkeys to cart around solar panels that will enable them to be connected 24/7. The video shows a donkey equipped with a large panel strapped to its back walking across rocky, dry terrain.
Ser-Gün, a Turkish solar panel producer, is behind the project. "We aim to better the daily comfort of the producer in the countryside, providing sustainability for sheepherding," Ser-Gün Chairman Tamer Uğurluel told Cihan news agency.
Uğurluel stressed that the project was the fruit of the 30-year-old efforts of the local sheepherding association in the western Turkish province of İzmir.
The power from the panels – 5 to 7 kilowatts of electricity – can be used on laptops and cell phones but can also be used to power lights. RFDTV reports that during birthing season, it is especially helpful to have extra light generated by the solar panels, according to
examiner.com.
"The Plug-and-Play Solar Pack" costs 2,800 Turkish Liras. The Turkish state covers half the cost for the sheepherder from public funds allocated to supporting development in the countryside.
c'mon they worshipped their kings. Pharoah was both god and king. It makes for an entire country of slaves owned by one Pharoah. That's how you get workforce. 
