Cyborg Uprising Part 2: Computer Power!
Between the mid-1980s and early ’90s, I had a Commodore 64. It was a fun computer and lasted me a long time. It had twice the amount of RAM needed for NASA to send men to the moon and back. Then I stepped up to a 486 at 33 MHz. It blew the C64 away. And it was absolutely fantastic for playing those early-’90s video games. I had a special affection for the Monty Python titles.
Now I look back on those computers and laugh. I have so much more computing power in my phone than I could have dreamed of back then. But have portable computers come far enough to enable the operation of robotic prosthetics and other cybernetic devices? We’re going to need it if we’re going to create a true cyborg. (Can we rebuild him? Do we have the technology?)
As stated in Part 1, we’re going to take a look at how possible it is to have a real-life cyborg with current technology. The first question becomes whether or not cybernetic operations can be carried out using a computer that is portable enough to be worn on one’s own person. The first task here is to determine how much computing power is required to run such operations.
When thinking about functional robots, one of the first machines that comes to mind is the Hero 1. Started in 1979 by the Heath Company, the Heathkit Hero 1 had a manufacturing longevity that lasted throughout the 1980s. While it wasn’t the most functional robot one could think of, it was still quite functional given the level of technology available at the time. The Hero 1 had basic movement functions, object detection using sonar, and basic voice and audio playback functions. While not too impressive by today’s standards, anyone who had the money and patience and insanity to program in a language one small step above machine code could play around with truly state-of-the-art robotics for the day.
Going beyond devices like the Hero 1, the basic concept of robotic and cybernetic operations is very simple. Motor functions are simply a combination of speed, power, and time. Doing it properly requires sensors and processing power. If video games can handle the motor functions of multiple characters, then simple functions of one entity shouldn’t be much of a problem. But can we build a computer that’s powerful enough and so low powered that it can be effectively carried and used easily on one’s person?
In order to produce a computer that’s portable and powerful enough for cybernetic functions, we first need to figure out what kind of processing power is available to us that will meet with our guidelines. Most processors either consume too much power to make true portability impractical, or they require additional motherboard hardware that makes size an issue. Sure, you could put a modified laptop computer in a backpack. But a good cyborg should not be that encumbered.
In terms of wearable computers, the first thing that comes to mind is the modern smartphone. Those little buggars can be programmed with apps to do just about anything you can think of. But can one of these devices, designed primarily for communication, operate robotic functions very well? Maybe, but probably not. That also applies to the OS which would have otherwise been properly named “Android”. While these devices are rather lovely little tools, they’re designed more specifically for communication and are not always the best at quickly responding to robotic commands.
Next up, we look at a true “wearable” computer, the ZYPAD. Designed to run on Linux or Windows CE, the ZYPAD computer is made to fit on the wrist. While wrist-worn computers are all fun in various ways, I think we can do much better.
Some people like to use an electronic component called an Arduino to make basic robots. The Arduino is a great platform for small projects. It’s also open source, so there are a lot of Arduino models and compatible variations on the market. But it’s very low-powered processing meant for smaller projects. It’s not quite up to the heavier projects of high-end cybernetics. We need toys for grown-ups for this.
Now we come to a piece of a geeky electronic Utopian heaven known as the Raspberry Pi. If you’re not familiar with this piece of divine work, let me fill you in. The Raspberry Pi is a complete computer on a board the size of a credit card. It has a 700 MHz ARM processor (similar to what is used in most smart phones) and runs on Linux. By using the ARM platform, it can run on very little power due to the fact that it uses the RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture. It may not be the fastest thing in the world, but it packs quite a punch, especially for the $25-$35 price tag! Or for just a slight bit more, we can upgrade to 1 GHz with the BeagleBone Black! With no need for an extra SD card since it’s all on-board, that’s some sweet computer power! A small USB hub can allow multiple peripheral devices to be connected to the computer.
But perhaps we need some more punch in the power. A company called Adapteva has developed what they call the Epiphany processor. Designed to run in conjunction with another processor, this little wonder uses the 700 MHz ARM like the Raspberry Pi, but the Parallella computer has, on the most basic level, sixteen cores of it! Not bad for a $99 computer system. For just $100 more, they have a 64-core version! And if that isn’t enough, the Epiphany design can theoretically run over a thousand cores! Granted they’re not out quite yet and software still needs to be developed to utilize the Epiphany processor’s capabilities. But when it’s all available, that’s a 5-watt supercomputer! That won’t take much battery power to run. And that’s more than enough to run what cybernetics we need for our purposes.
So we have some options for the base computer system. Now, just for kicks, let’s make it into a full portable, and usable, computer system. First, we need a monitor so we can see what the computer is doing. There are a few to choose from. Many of them resemble Google Glass. But I would probably choose the Brother AirScouter, mainly because it reminds me more of a Scouter from Dragonball Z or an augmented reality device from Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal. Anime style, in my own opinion, should always win out over something that looks like nerdy safety glasses.
Next, we need to put information into the computer. A typical computer will use a keyboard and a mouse. Smart phones and tablets use touch screens. But touch screens aren’t all that practical when the monitor is less than an inch in size right next to the eye. And a keyboard and mouse are typically just a little large to be carried around normally. But a mini wireless keyboard like a VisionTek Candyboard or a FAVI Smartstick keyboard would be perfect. It can Velcro to a wrist band for easy access.
The other input device I would think about, especially since it’s ultimately for cybernetics, would be electroencephalography or EEG. This allows the computer to read directly from someone’s mind, such as what is made by Emotiv. Granted, there are currently no drivers for Linux which is what the Raspberry Pi, the Beagleboard Black, and the Parallella are designed for. But some simple hacking can change that. EEG, or even a chip implanted in the brain as what is being researched today, can provide a better input interface for what is needed for a cyborg.
The last step would be Internet connectivity. If there is the means to access information quickly, the computerized person might as well take advantage of that. One never knows when access to an article on SciFi4Me can allow the cyborg to save the world. Luckily, that can be easily provided by a smart phone. Smart phones can use what is called USB tethering. Simply connecting a phone to a computer by USB makes it a usable device. Tethering allows the phone to be used as a network device whether it’s by wi-fi or cellular network.
So there is is, the portable, wearable computer system using modern technology which is powerful enough to control the mechanical functions of a cyborg. Next, it’s time to provide some actual mechanics to the bionic person.
Part 3: The Non-Committal Cyborg —>
