Brain-computer interface lets a man with a spinal injury feel robotic fingers

Nathan Copeland is telling a researcher which of his fingers he feels a touch on. But the researcher is touching a robotic hand, not Copeland's, whose hand hasn't felt a thing in over a decade. In this "proof of principle" experiment, a man whose spinal injury removed all sensation from his limbs was able to "feel" pressure on several robotic digits connected directly to his brain. It's a long way from a cybernetic hand, but it opens the possibility of using one to even more of those who need it. That said, this is still important research because it skips a step many other prosthetics rely on: the peripheral nervous system.