THE SUN
THE next step in human evolution could see us further integrate technology with flesh and bone.
But it might surprise some that the technology may not emulate human features like today’s prosthetics, according to a new study.
Neuroscientists have found that people actually feel more connected to “tweezer-like” bionic tools than grafts that resemble human hands.
Using virtual reality (VR), researchers tested whether humans could feel like the tweezer claw was a part of their own body.
Participants could successfully embody a “bionic tool” and a prosthetic hand with equal degrees.
However, people were faster and more accurate at virtually completing tasks with the tweezer-hands than when they used a human hand.
“For our biology to merge seamlessly with tools, we need to feel that the tools are part of our body,” said Ottavia Maddaluno, neuroscientist at the Sapienza University of Rome and first author of the study.
“Our findings demonstrate that humans can experience a grafted tool as an integral part of their own body.”
The study was conducted alongside the Santa Lucia Foundation IRCCS with fellow neuroscientist Viviana Betti.
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