Watch a Paralyzed Woman Control a Robotic Arm With Her Mind

There are certain things we take for granted. But for Cathy Hutchinson (pictured above), a task as simple as reaching out for a glass of water seemed like an impossibility due to her paralysis. Until now.

Researchers at Brown University have developed a program called Brain Gate, which allows paralyzed patients to move objects virtually using only their brain commands. Announced for the first time in 2006, Brain Gate uses a chip implanted in the motor cortex, the part of the human brain that commands body movements. The technology has evolved to such a stage where someone like Hutchinson can now control a robotic arm connected to the sensors in her brain and perform actions.

Sounds like pure science fiction? Watch the video in which Hutchinson successfully controls the robotic arm using her brain to pick up a bottle and drink out of it. Something she couldn't do by herself for 16 years. Her smile alone is what makes science so great!