Page 180 - Modern Robotics Building Versatile Macines

160 Modern Robotics

Warwick and his colleagues performed a number of other inter-
esting experiments during the two months or so the implant was in
place. Nerve signals were used to control the way a “swarm” of little
robots interacted with each other. And after considerable experi-
mentation, they were able to verify that the connection between
Warwick’s nervous system and the world was two-way. That is, he
could receive electronically generated nerve signals that would cause
his muscles to react.

The Human Connection

There was a final experiment Warwick eagerly wanted to perform.
Time was running out: The doctors were afraid that if the implant
was left in too long it would begin to fuse with the body and be
difficult to remove safely. Also, the electrodes were, for unknown
reasons, gradually failing, and only a few remained active.
Irena, Warwick’s second wife, wanted very much to share in his
exploration of the world of cyborgs. Originally, they thought that
she, too, could receive a full implant. Husband and wife would then
be able to send nerve impulses directly to each other. The bureau-
cratic hurdles proved too insurmountable, so they had to settle for
Irena having two simple needle electrodes inserted into her median
nerve.
Finally, Warwick and Irena’s nervous systems were connected. As
he recounted in I,Cyborg:

I waited. It seemed to take an age. But then I felt it, a shot of current,
a charge, running down the inside of my left index finger. A beauti-
ful, sweet, deliciously sexy charge. I felt like I had never felt before. I
jumped with surprise more than anything else and shouted, “Yes!”

An Open Future

In 2000, Warwick gave a series of five Royal Institution lectures
under the title “Rise of the Robots.” (The lecture series had begun
in 1825 by electrical pioneer Michael Faraday.) Warwick’s work