The work is the result of a nine-year project run by DARPA called Revolutionizing Prosthetics. Sanchez announced the initial findings at DARPA’s Wait, What conference Sept. 11: “We’ve completed the circuit,” he said. “Prosthetic limbs that can be controlled by thoughts are showing great promise.”

A patient using an early version of the robot arm.
A patient using an early version of the robot arm.
Image: DARPA

DARPA, however, is remaining tight-lipped on the details of the project’s success—like just how sensitive the robot arm is to different textures or surfaces—until it’s passed a peer review and been submitted to a scientific journal for publication. Until then, we’ll just have to assume the agency has pulled off what hasn’t happened since a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. But—search your feelings—you know it to be true.

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