The world's first woman to use an AI bionic arm: not only for mind control, but also for deep learning common actions
On September 30, 2022, Sarah de Lagarde, a woman from London, UK, felt like perhaps the most unfortunate person in the world: she accidentally fell off the edge of the platform, was run over by two trains, and lost her right arm and leg in excruciating pain. As a mountaineer, Lagarde only reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa, in August last year. However, a month later, she collapsed on the cold railway tracks and experienced the most helpless moment of her life.
Nearly a year later, Lagarde was able to embrace her daughter with both arms and even climbed to the third highest peak in Portugal with her family.. On September 6th, after appearing on the TV program "Good Morning Britain", her tragic experience and strong will to recover moved many viewers.
▲ Lagarde (right) is a guest on the program "Good Morning Britain"
Behind this inspirational story, AI technology also plays an important role.. Unlike typical robotic arms, Lagarde is the world's first user to use an AI inspired arm as a prosthetic. This arm can capture her brainwave signals and make corresponding movements from her elbow to fingertips according to instructions. Lagarde's 8-year-old daughter even exclaimed in surprise that this arm is "as cool as an iPhone".
Lagarde recalls tragic experience:
At that time, she felt excruciating pain ten times
On September 30th last year, after work, Lagarde took a train to commute home.. Due to physical exhaustion, she fell asleep on the train and passed the station until she reached the end of the line at Barnett High Street Station. After waking up, she hurriedly got off the train and rushed to the opposite platform. Due to the slippery road on the rainy day, she accidentally fell to the ground and fell off the edge of the platform.
Just as Lagarde was thinking about how to flip onto the platform, she suddenly felt a sensation of fracture and pain in her body. Just before the excruciating pain had passed, a second train quickly arrived and ran over her again. On that night, the pain on my body made me feel like I had already died ten times. ”As there was no one at the station at the time, it was not until 15 minutes later that someone heard her wail and called for a helicopter to airlift her to the nearby Barnett Royal Hospital. Due to the urgent situation, the hospital quickly convened a team of experts to amputate her. When Lagarde woke up again, the only thought in her mind was to live as long as possible to reunite with her family. After she was sent to the hospital, her daughter cried and made a video call, in which she promised her daughter that she would definitely go home.
For the strong recovery of her family
A year after the car accident, she "feels good"
After being discharged from the hospital and returning home, with the help of her family, Lagarde gradually regained her composure, actively recovered, and exercised every day to enhance her mobility..
In the process of selecting prosthetics, Lagarde and her family were interested in the AI bionic arm produced by Covi, a small company in Leeds, UK. The right leg prosthesis she used was tailor-made for her by an international team of experts from England, Germany, and other countries.. The total cost of this prosthetic set exceeds 250000 pounds (approximately 2.26 million yuan). Due to the lack of precedent for using AI bionic arms as prosthetics, the public healthcare system NHS in the UK refused to reimburse them. Helpless, Lagarde wrote a letter to raise funds and seek help from audiences across the UK.
▲ Lagarde optimistic after amputation
"Faced with such high costs, our family may need to raise many years to save up this money. But my daughters are growing up day by day, and I want to feel the feeling of embracing them with both arms. ”After the open letter was sent out, their family quickly raised funds to install a bionic right arm and leg for Lagarde, which greatly enhanced her rehabilitation process.
In April of this year, accompanied by her family, she climbed the third highest peak in Portugal, Santana Peak.. The scenery of Madeira Island is so beautiful, even though it was only a three-and-a-half-hour hike, I already feel incredibly happy. "On September 6th, Lagarde said on the" Good Morning Britain "program that she now feels" very good "and asked the audience not to worry about her. She said that after experiencing moments of life and death, she can feel the preciousness of life more in her daily life. 80% of the time, I feel the beauty of the world and the preciousness of my family, and the remaining 20% of the time, I also cry. Looking back at the day when the accident happened, I feel very helpless and scared.
AI technology helps with broken arm rehabilitation
"It's really improving my life"
Lagarde smiled and described herself as "80% human, 20% robot". She was grateful for the AI bionic arm that allowed her to "embrace children with both arms" again.
On the program "Good Morning Britain", she demonstrated the function of this arm live. She remained silent and could make her palm close and open with just her thoughts, which surprised the host's face..
▲ Lagarde has become accustomed to AI bionic arms
"There are a bunch of electrodes at the insertion hole of this arm, which are cleverly used to capture signals of muscle movement. When I want to twitch a muscle in my mind, it sends a signal to the server installed at the elbow. The server converts these signals into electronic pulses to drive the arm's work. I find it difficult to explain the principle clearly, but when I think of an action, such as opening my palm, my muscles will twitch in a specific way. I am able to independently control the movement of my elbows, forearms, wrists, and each finger. ”Lagarde explained. Lagarde also said, "But its true charm lies in the built-in artificial intelligence technology. This arm can learn to record my most frequent movements. If it finds that I often use my fingers to point directions, it will know that I like to do it and make it easier for me to extend my fingers the next time.
Therefore, regarding the application of AI technology, Lagarde said that she has personally experienced the positive effects brought by AI. "People feel very anxious about artificial intelligence controlling every aspect of our lives, but it is actually improving my life. Artificial intelligence is not necessarily a bad thing," she said. Lagarde said that scientists told her it may take her a lifetime to learn how to use this arm, but she has become proficient in using some simple functions in less than a year. She looks forward to learning more complex movements in the future, such as cutting steak and tying hair.
Lagarde was also very pleased with her daughter's reaction to the AI bionic arm. She was originally worried that her daughter would suffer strong psychological trauma, but her daughter quickly adapted to the reality of her mother losing her right arm, and even praised her mother's AI bionic arm as "cool", even comparing it to an "iPhone".. Because every night I have to take off my arm and plug it into the USB port to charge, my daughter thinks it's as cool as wearing an iPhone on her body. ”When Lagarde goes to her daughter's school to attend a parent teacher conference, her daughter proudly introduces her "robotic arm" to her classmates.
Red Star News reporter Zheng Zhi
Editor Guo Yu Responsible Editor Wei Kongming
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