China: VR wings experiment hints at future of embodied intelligence in China.

Storyline VR wings experiment hints at future of embodied intelligence in China A team from Peking University has demonstrated that the human brain can learn to associate a pair of virtual wings as part of its own body, offering new insights into brain-computer interface and exoskeleton research. In an experiment, volunteers donned a VR headset and were hooked up to more than a dozen cameras in a high precision optical motion-capture system. After one week of flight training, the volunteers' brain scans showed something striking. They were processing images of their wings the same way they processed images of their own arms. Bi Yanchao, professor, School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University: "The brain essentially interpreted the wings as part of my own body -- that's the change we observed. This gives us new insights into how the brain works, and it has implications for other brain-related research, such as brain-computer interfaces. For instance, when we integrate external devices with the human brain, the question of where and how to integrate them becomes critical to performance." Developers say tools like these can help amputees gain better control over their prosthetic limbs, enhance their spatial awareness and improve their memory. [Restrictions: No access Chinese mainland]