Since you probably don’t want super strength anymore, what’s the next best bet for fighting giant interdimensional monsters? A giant robot suit, duh. But how close are we to suiting up, handshaking someone else’s neurons, and rocket-punching kaiju in Pacific Rim-style armor? Closer than you think. (Except for the interdimensional monster part.)
On today’s special episode of Muskwatch, Dan and I are breaking down how close real world technology is coming to the universe of apocalypse-canceling robots. For starters, the closest thing we have to linking two Jaeger pilots in The Drift—brain-machine interfaces or BMIs—have been the stars of neuroscience research for both scientists and the military for decades. Direct brain-to-brain communication via BMI was even demonstrated in 2014. Did it give the study participants access to each other’s deepest darkest memories? No. But they did “communicate” from over 5,000 miles away with just the electrical activity measured at their scalp.
Also on the show this week, we’ve got the latest on disaster relief robots, big military robots with big ‘ol guns strapped to them, and Papa Elon’s plans for Mars.
Muskwatch airs on Nerdist.com and YouTube every Tuesday, but you can hack the planet and watch it two full days earlier on Sunday if you’re an Alpha subscriber. Find out how you can get 30 days free (and be 48 hours smarter than your dumb friends) right here.
What do you think of this week’s top stories? What else would you like to see us discuss on Muskwatch? Let us know in the comments below!
WHAT ELSE IS ELON MUSK UP TO?
- A Falcon rocket will bring 4G to the Moon
- The Falcon Heavy launch has spawned a ton of conspiracy theories
- Elon Musk and SpaceX want to get you drunk on Mars
