Man With Brain Implant Controls Another Person’s Hand

Researchers at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research and the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell have demonstrated a cutting-edge BCI that allows a person with paralysis to control another person’s hand and even feel what she feels. In the experiment, a man with a spinal cord injury used implanted sensors in his motor cortex, along with AI decoding and flexible electrode patches, to send signals to another volunteer’s arm, enabling her to perform tasks such as pouring water. 

 

This inter-human neural bypass opens new possibilities for cooperative rehabilitation, where users with different degrees of mobility can work together: the paralysed man helped a woman with partial paralysis improve her hand strength, while experiencing control and touch again himself. The trial suggests that by closing both movement and sensation loops, the technology could restore more natural sensorimotor function and perhaps motivate the body to repair itself. However, the study is still limited to a small group and long-term outcomes remain to be seen.

More information:

https://singularityhub.com/2025/10/23/one-mind-two-bodies-man-with-brain-implant-controls-another-persons-hand-and-feels-what-she-feels/

Eyes-Off Driving Google AI

General Motors is targeting new software initiatives for its vehicles over the next 3 years, including an in-vehicle artificial intelligence assistant from Google and a driver-assistance system that can largely control the vehicle without human interaction or monitoring.

The conversational Google Gemini AI will begin launching in its vehicles next year, followed by the new driver-assistance system, which will allow drivers to be hands-free and take their eyes off the road under certain circumstances, in 2028.

More information:

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/22/gm-tech-google-ai.html

Gradient 3D Printed Designs

A new open-source software is shaking up the way engineers design and print multi-material objects. Created in the Matter Assembly Computation Lab, the tool enables engineers to design spatially varying multi-material objects with remarkable ease and precision.

The project reflects a growing interest in computational approaches that merge coding with design. The software allows users to combine complex mathematical functions and assign them as materials to different regions of a 3D object.

More information:

https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/openvcad-multi-material-3d-design

AI Actress

After an artificial intelligence-generated actress drew intense backlash from human actors, the character’s maker says it’s not meant to replace people. Tilly Norwood looks like a young woman with wavy brown hair and clear skin and is AI-generated.

Hollywood news reported that talent agents were looking to sign Tilly as an actress and that movie studios are quietly embracing AI-generated content. The Tilly Instagram account racked up hundreds of angry comments, including from some of Hollywood’s biggest names.

More information:

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/09/30/tech/hollywood-ai-actor-backlash

Mice's Motion Sensors Could Spy Users

A group of researchers from the University of California, Irvine, have developed a way to use the sensors in high-quality optical mice to capture subtle vibrations and convert them into audible data. The high polling rate and sensitivity of high-performance optical mice pick up acoustic vibrations from the surface where they sit.

By running the raw data through signal processing and machine learning techniques, the team could hear what the user was saying through their desk. Mouse sensors with a 20,000 DPI or higher are vulnerable to this attack. And with the best gaming mice becoming more affordable annually, even relatively affordable peripherals are at risk.

More information:

https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/cyber-security/high-performance-mice-can-be-used-as-a-microphone-to-spy-on-users-thanks-to-ai-mic-e-mouse-technique-uses-mouse-sensors-to-convert-acoustic-vibrations-into-speech

Smart in-Asphalt Fabric

A fabric developed by scientists from Germany's Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research and the SenAD2 project, monitors the condition of paved roads. The material consists of flax fibers interwoven with an electrically conductive sensor wire less than 1 mm thick. The fabric is produced on a double rapier loom in a width of 50 cm (19.7 in) at whatever length is needed. Side-by-side connected lengths of the material are laid down across the base layer of a road, as it's being constructed. The surface layer is then poured over top, covering them.

At the side of the road, an external measurement unit is connected to the sensor wire. As cracks proceed to form in the asphalt over the months and years that follow, the material expands, placing pressure upon the sensor wire. This creates a change in the electrical resistance of the wire, which is detected by the measurement unit. AI algorithms determine the current extent of the damage, and to provide an estimate of its likely progression over time. The technology is currently being tested on an industrial road in Germany.

More information:

https://newatlas.com/good-thinking/electronic-fabric-asphalt-roads/

Forest Digital Twin

Scanning forests with lasers can provide three-dimensional models of forests, creating a unique way to look at these ecosystems. Researchers at the University of Helsinki are pioneers in applying this technical solution to measuring ecosystems. This technique, referred to as Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), opens new opportunities in measuring forest structure, monitoring disturbances and simulating ecosystems.

TLS provides us with a new way of looking at forests – not just from above, but from within. It helps us understand tree growth, forest responses to disturbances and the effects of forest structure on biodiversity and capacity for recovery. A deeper understanding helps researchers, decision-makers and communities to make increasingly justified decisions – and, ultimately, to better reconcile human activity with the environment.

More information:

https://www.helsinki.fi/en/news/climate-change/digital-twin-forests-help-new-technology

3D-printed tissue Mimics Real Organs

Surgeons and doctors often rely on artificial models to practice delicate procedures. Researchers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities have developed a new 3D printing technique that creates lifelike human tissue structures. Their work could reshape surgical training by offering models that look, feel, and respond more like real human tissue.

The Minnesota team found a way to control the shape and size of microscopic patterns inside the printed material. Those patterns directly influence the strength and stretchiness of the tissues, giving them realistic mechanical properties. They also built a mathematical formula to predict how the tissues behave under stress.

More information:

https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/3d-printed-human-tissue-surgery-training