In 2019, Jacob George, an assistant professor in the University of Utah Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and fellow researchers at the U made waves with the “LUKE Arm.” Named after the robotic hand given to Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back, the team’s prosthetic arm has the ability to feel objects by transmitting the appropriate signals to the brain. Not only can the arm feel, but it can be controlled by the user’s thoughts.
Members of the campus and broader community are invited to attend a lecture from George scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 13 at 11 a.m. in the Gould Auditorium on the first level of the U’s J. Willard Marriott Library.
As the featured speaker for The William R. and Erlyn J. Gould Distinguished Lecture on Technology and the Quality of Life, George will highlight this technology and the advances that have taken place since their breakthrough technology was first announced—including translation into bionic exoskeletons to aid individuals with paralysis and into smartwatches that could allow anyone to seamlessly control smart devices and augmented reality interfaces by thought.