Science | robot Meet the Robot You Control With Your Mind Paralyzed people could soon have robot avatars By Kevin Spak Posted Apr 25, 2012 5:00 PM CDT Copied Mark-Andre Duc, a partially tetraplegic patient, is seen on a laptop screen as he talks to scientists in Switzerland's Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland, April 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus) It sounds like an idea out of science fiction: Paralyzed people using mind-controlled robot bodies to interact with the world. But a team of Swiss scientists yesterday demonstrated a robot that could do just that. They tapped into the brain of partial quadriplegic Mark-Andre Duc, who was in a hospital 60 miles away, the AP reports. A laptop decoded the electrical signals his brain was emitting almost instantaneously, then transmitted his commands to the bot. While mind-control systems have been in the works for a while, the new system is a major advancement because it allows patients to operate the robot almost subconsciously. If told, for example, to move forward, the robot will continue until commanded to stop; previous systems required constant concentration. Read These Next Rubio says the fate of Iran's conversion facility is what matters. Some of the most explosive Diddy allegations are dropped. NJ lifeguard survives after being impaled by an umbrella. Sprinter suffers wardrobe malfunction, still manages to win. Report an error