Kevin Warwick: Encyclopedia II - Kevin Warwick - Project Cyborg

Kevin Warwick - Project Cyborg

Probably the most famous piece of research undertaken by Professor Warwick (aka Captain Cyborg) is the set of experiments known as Project Cyborg, in which he had a chip implanted into his arm, with the aim of "becoming a cyborg".

The first stage of this research, which began on August 24, 1998, involved a simple RFID transmitter being implanted beneath Professor Warwick's skin, and used to control doors, lights, heaters, and other computer-controlled devices based on his proximity. The main purpose of this experiment was to test the limits of what the body would accept, and how easy it would be to receive a meaningful signal from the chip.

The second stage involved a far more complex chip which was implanted on March 14, 2002, and which interfaced directly into Professor Warwick's nervous system. The electrode array inserted contained around 100 electrodes, of which 25 could be accessed at any one time, whereas the median nerve which it monitored carries many times that number of signals. The experiment proved successful, and the signal produced was detailed enough that a robot arm developed by Warwick's colleague, Dr Peter Kyberd, was able to mimic the actions of Professor Warwick's own arm.

A highly publicised extension to the experiment, in which a simpler array was implanted into Professor Warwick's wife—with the aim of creating some form of telepathy or empathy using the Internet to communicate the signal from afar—was also moderately successful, although the implant seems to have been less successful at stimulating signals than at measuring them. Finally, the effect of the implant on Professor Warwick's hand function was measured using the Southampton Hand Assessment Procedure (SHAP). It was feared that directly interfacing with the nervous system might cause some form of damage or interference, but no measurable effect was found.

Kevin Warwick - Implications and criticisms

Professor Warwick and his colleagues claim that the Project Cyborg research could lead to new medical tools for treating patients with damage to the nervous system, as well opening the way for the more ambitious enhancements Professor Warwick advocates. Critics, however, suggest that the experiment was little more than a publicity stunt.

An additional controversy arose in August 2002, shortly after the Soham murders , when Professor Warwick reportedly offered to implant a tracking device into an 11-year-old girl as an anti-abduction measure. The plan produced a mixed reaction, including ethical concerns from a number of children's societies, with support from many concerned parents. As a result, the idea did not go ahead, and it is not clear to what extent it was hype, speculation, or a genuine proposal.

Anti-theft RFID chips are common in jewelry or clothing in some Latin American countries due to a high abduction rate,[1] and the company Verichip announced plans in 2001 to expand its line of currently available medical information implants,[2], to be GPS trackable when combined with a separate GPS device.[3][4] [5] [6]

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Project Cyborg", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki