In the world of prosthetics, a groundbreaking advancement is changing the game for individuals with lower-limb amputations. 

Researchers at MIT, in collaboration with Brigham and Women’s Hospital, have developed a neuroprosthetic system that allows users to control their prosthetic legs using their own nervous systems. 

This innovative approach could bring us closer to a future of fully integrated, naturally controlled artificial limbs.

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A person wearing the neuroprosthetic system (Hugh Herr and Hyungeun Song)

The AMI: A surgical game-changer

At the heart of this breakthrough is a surgical procedure known as the agonist-antagonist myoneural interface, or AMI. Unlike traditional amputation methods, the AMI reconnects muscles in the residual limb, preserving the natural push-pull dynamics of muscle pairs. This seemingly simple change has profound implications for prosthetic control and function.

Illustration of how the neuroprosthetic system works (MIT Media Lab)

Dr. Hugh Herr, a professor at MIT and senior author of the study, explained the significance: “This is the first prosthetic study in history that shows a leg prosthesis under full neural modulation, where a biomimetic gait emerges. No one has been able to show this level of brain control that produces a natural gait, where the human’s nervous system is controlling the movement, not a robotic control algorithm.”

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Dr. Hugh Herr pictured with the neuroprosthetic system (Jimmy Day, MIT Media Lab)

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The power of proprioception

The key advantage of the AMI system is its ability to provide users with proprioceptive feedback, the sense of where their limb is in space. This sensory information, often taken for granted by those with intact limbs, is crucial for natural movement and control. With the AMI, patients regain a portion of this vital feedback, allowing them to walk more naturally and confidently.

In the study, seven patients with AMI surgery were compared to seven with traditional amputations. The results were striking. AMI patients walked faster, navigated obstacles more easily and climbed stairs with greater agility. They also demonstrated more natural movements, such as pointing their toes upward when stepping over obstacles, a subtle but important aspect of a natural gait.

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A person wearing the neuroprosthetic system (Hugh Herr and Hyungeun Song)

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Adapting to real-world challenges

One of the most impressive aspects of the AMI system is its versatility. Patients were able to adapt their gait to various real-world conditions, including walking on slopes and navigating stairs. This adaptability is crucial for everyday life, where terrain and challenges can change rapidly.

The system’s responsiveness was put to the test in an obstacle-crossing trial. AMI patients were able to modify their gait to clear obstacles more effectively than those with traditional prosthetics. This ability to rapidly adjust to unexpected challenges is a hallmark of natural limb function and represents a significant leap forward in prosthetic technology.

A person wearing the neuroprosthetic system (Hugh Herr and Hyungeun Song)

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The science of sensory feedback

The success of the AMI system hinges on its ability to augment residual muscle afferents, which are the sensory signals sent from muscles to the nervous system. Remarkably, even a modest increase in these signals allows for significantly improved control and function. This finding highlights the incredible adaptability of the human nervous system and its ability to integrate and utilize even partial sensory information.

Dr. Hyungeun Song, lead author of the study, notes: “One of the main findings here is that a small increase in neural feedback from your amputated limb can restore significant bionic neural controllability, to a point where you allow people to directly neurally control the speed of walking, adapt to different terrain and avoid obstacles.”

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A person wearing the neuroprosthetic system (Hugh Herr and Hyungeun Song)

Looking to the future

While this research represents a significant step forward, it’s just the beginning. The team at MIT is exploring ways to further enhance sensory feedback and improve the integration between the human nervous system and prosthetic devices. The AMI procedure has already been performed on about 60 patients worldwide, including those with arm amputations, suggesting broad applicability across different types of limb loss.

As this technology continues to evolve, we may see even more natural and intuitive control of artificial limbs. The ultimate goal is to create prosthetics that feel and function like a natural part of the user’s body, blurring the line between human and machine.

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A person wearing the neuroprosthetic system (Hugh Herr and Hyungeun Song)

Kurt’s key takeaways

The development of prosthetic limbs controlled by the nervous system marks the beginning of a new era in bionics. It offers hope for improved mobility, independence and quality of life for millions of people living with limb loss. Moreover, it provides valuable insights into the plasticity of the human nervous system and our ability to integrate with advanced technology.

As we continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible in merging biology and technology, we open up new frontiers in human augmentation and rehabilitation. The implications extend far beyond prosthetics, potentially influencing fields such as neurology, robotics and even our understanding of human consciousness and embodiment.

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How comfortable would you be with technology that directly interfaces with your nervous system? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.

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Video game performers with SAG-AFTRA will strike beginning Friday as AI “loopholes” have caused concerns.

Beginning at 12:01 Friday morning, video game voice actors and motion capture performers under the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists will strike over artificial intelligence protections.

This is the second strike for SAG-AFTRA performers in video games. While the union has conceded that wages and job safety have made gains in video game contracts, AI in interactive media continues to be a source of insecurity.

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SAG-AFTRA Chief Contracts Officer Ray Rodriguez shared at the presser on Thursday that some performers’ work may be treated as “data” under current AI guidance.

“We strike as a matter of last resort. We have given this process absolutely as much time as we responsibly can. We have exhausted the other possibilities, and that is why we’re doing it now,” said Rodriguez.

SAG-AFTRA captains Iris Liu, left, and Miki Yamashita, center, and SAG-AFTRA chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland lead a cheer for striking actors outside Paramount Pictures studio, Nov. 3, 2023, in Los Angeles. Hollywood’s video game performers voted to go on strike Thursday, July 25, 2024, throwing part of the entertainment industry into another work stoppage after talks for a new contract with major game studios broke down over artificial intelligence protections. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Nearly two years of negotiations with gaming creators like Warner Brothers and the Walt Disney Company have led to the strike.

SAG-AFTRA’s negotiating committee shared with the AP that the definition of “performer” may differ between the union and the gaming companies.

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Audrey Cooling, a spokesperson for the gaming companies involved,  with the AP that the companies’ offer “extends meaningful AI protections.”

Cooling added, “We are disappointed the union has chosen to walk away when we are so close to a deal, and we remain prepared to resume negotiations.”

Ari Fromm, left, as “Todd,” from “Bojack Horseman,” with their dog “Mr. Peanutbutter,” and Cameron Laventure, as “Link,” from the video game, “The Legend of Zelda,” on the Halloween line during the SAG-AFTRA picket, in front of Netflix in Los Angeles, CA, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Andi Norris, an actor, said to the AP “the performers who bring their body of work to these games create a whole variety of characters, and all of that work must be covered. Their proposal would carve out anything that doesn’t look and sound identical to me as I sit here, when, in truth, on any given week I am a zombie, I am a soldier, I am a zombie soldier.”

“We cannot and will not accept that a stunt or movement performer giving a full performance on stage next to a voice actor isn’t a performer,” Norris argued.

According to SAG-AFTRA, the video game agreement represents 2,500 “off-camera (voiceover) performers, on-camera (motion capture, stunt) performers, stunt coordinators, singers, dancers, puppeteers, and background performers.”

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

If you ever wanted to launch an online shop, but you’re not quite sure where to start, I get it. With all the website platforms that exist out there, it can feel rather daunting. 

But whether you’re looking to start a side hustle or finally begin that passion project after retiring, I want you to understand how someone with no prior experience can easily create their own online presence. 

I’m here to help you launch a successful online site – like a shop, for example – one step at a time.

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A woman working on her laptop (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

How to set up your online shop: A beginner’s guide

There are many website builders available, like Squarespace, Shopify, WordPress and Wix, but only a few specialize in online selling. Among those, even fewer make it easy to design, publish, manage your shop and handle all the in-between tasks on one platform without needing to integrate other services. Here’s how you can do it in this step-by-step guide.

1. Create your online storefront

Your website design plays a crucial role in attracting and retaining customers. Although it’s often said not to judge a book by its cover, many of us naturally do. Consider the intersection of form and function, how structure and design elements guide shoppers through their buying journey. If design isn’t your strong suit, many website builders offer a variety of e-commerce templates to choose from.

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Here are some tips:

• For a large product catalog: Opt for a template with pre-built product categories, deep search functionality and clear navigation.
• For a small product catalog: Showcase your entire catalog on the homepage, making it easy for shoppers to find and select products.
• For single products: Focus on a quick buyer flow, emphasizing a straightforward purchase experience.

When it comes to colors, fonts and other design aspects, familiarize yourself with color marketing to determine what will work best for your brand and store. Ensure your logo and/or shop name is clearly placed on your storefront.

Remember, strong product images and descriptions are essential. Use this opportunity to integrate customer support, cross-selling features and social proof to pave the path to purchase.

Kurt’s best website builders for building your online shop

Illustration of a website template (Wix)

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2. Create products and product options

Once your design is ready to go, start by adding your products to the store. Whether you’re selling physical items or digital downloads, consider the following:

• Physical products: These can be sold as one-time purchases or part of a subscription model.
• Digital products: Offer items like e-books, software or image files.
• Product options: If your product comes in different sizes, colors or materials, add variants so that customers can choose their preferred option.

Don’t worry if you don’t have all of this figured out yet or if you only have one product to sell right now. You’ll need to start somewhere, and there’s no time like the present.

3 WAYS TO MAKE THE MOST MONEY ONLINE SELLING YOUR THINGS

3. Use categories to organize

If you do have multiple products or plan to add them later, you’ll want to group similar products into categories. This helps organize your catalog and allows customers to browse related items together, in addition to being able to easily search and filter through what they are looking for. In order to do this, follow these steps:

• Create categories: Set up categories like “Candles,” “Ceramics” or any relevant groupings.
• Display categories on separate pages: Create the category, add products to it and then use a platform editor to display them. You can also manually create a page linking to all your categories if needed.

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4. Optimize product pages (and more)

After deciding which products to sell and categorizing those products, you’ll need to make it easy for your audience to find, read about and see what those products are. Without getting a good description and visual of what they’ll be getting, they’ll be less likely to order from you. So, here’s what you’ll need to optimize those product pages:

• Product images: Use high-quality images and, if applicable, videos that showcase your items.
• Descriptions: Add clear and compelling descriptions that highlight benefits. Bonus points if they can be optimized for SEO (more on that later).
• Cross-selling: Suggest related products that customers can add to their cart to increase sales before they check out.
• Social proof: Display reviews and testimonials that attest to the quality of your product.

Additionally, you’ll want to add to your site:

• General information and contact info: Set your email address, location, language and currency. It’s also a good idea to have a contact page and/or phone number and email on your website for additional questions or concerns.
• Customer support: Include FAQs so that customers can get answers to common questions. Depending on the size of your store, consider adding a live chat so that customers can contact you to discuss an order if need be. If your site grows, you may need to hire a team or ticketing software for this.

Kurt’s best website builders for building your online shop

Illustration of order page (Wix)

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5. Enter site settings

It’s important to enable site settings to ensure your site functions smoothly. You can do this by entering essential details such as:

• Roles and permissions: If you have employees or partners, manage their limited access to your site so no one accidentally deletes products or pages from your online store.
• Privacy policy: Outline how customer data is collected, used, stored and protected. This builds trust with your visitors by reassuring them their personal information is safe and complies with legal requirements.
• Disclaimer: Provide a clear disclaimer to limit your liability regarding the information on your site. This is especially important for sites that provide advice, sell products or offer services that may have varying results for different users.
• Security certificate: Obtain and install an SSL certificate to encrypt data transmitted between your site and its visitors. This ensures sensitive information, such as credit card details, is protected, boosting customer confidence and improving your site’s SEO ranking.

Kurt’s best website builders for building your online shop

6. Shipping and delivery options

Having a site to showcase your products is the first step, but you also need to have a way to get those products to your customers in a timely and cost-efficient manner. This is the part that can make or break your customer base, as you’ll need to be able to create expectations for your users.

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Now, decide how to get your products to customers:

• Shipping: Ship products to customers using Wix’s flexible shipping rules.
• Local delivery: Hand-deliver to customers in your area.
• Pickup: Allow local customers to collect products from your physical locations.

Kurt’s best website builders for building your online shop

7. Accept online payments

Now, how will your customers pay for those products? Be sure to set up secure payment gateways so that customers can pay seamlessly and with multiple payment options. Many platforms support various payment methods, including credit cards, PayPal and more, and it’s easy to accept those payments directly through your site.

Kurt’s best website builders for building your online shop

Example of website templates (WIX)

8. Optimize for search engines

In addition to making your product pages look snazzy, you’ll also want to take the time to optimize those pages – and other pages on your online shop – for SEO. What this means is that when someone searches for a specific product or type of store on a search engine, your site/product pages will be the ones that come up. People accomplish this by finding relevant search keywords that people are searching for, like “handmade necklaces of fruits” or “organic soaps online ship to Atlanta.”

This may require you to pay for an SEO research tool or hire an SEO specialist to help boost your visibility, ensuring your people can find you. Some platforms have SEO tools that can help you ensure you’re putting in all the keywords correctly, and you can also hire an SEO specialist directly through the site.

Kurt’s best website builders for building your online shop

9. Promote your store

SEO is a way to organically lead customers to your store, but there are other ways to spread the word with outbound marketing. You may have to put a little extra effort into this, but it can help increase your sales and, at the very least, raise awareness about your shop, which people can share with their own networks, thus spreading the word. Try to have an idea of where your audience is, though, before putting all your resources into all of these methods. Sometimes just one is enough!

Social media: Use social media platforms to share product updates, promotions and behind-the-scenes content. You can also insert social icons onto your site to help visitors share products with their network.

Email marketing: Build a subscriber list and send targeted emails. Sometimes the best place to start is by contacting people that you already have in your network, as they may be thrilled at the idea of supporting your store! Email marketing automation, like sending an automated “thank you” email after someone purchases a product from your store, can also be very effective.

Paid advertising: Consider Google Ads or social media ads to give your products and site an extra boost.

Kurt’s best website builders for building your online shop

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10. Monitor and improve

Last but not least, running an online shop isn’t much different from running a brick-and-mortar store, especially when it comes to monitoring your store’s performance and checking your inventory. There are many tools available to help you regularly check your store’s performance:

• Analytics: Use analytics tools to track visitor behavior, conversion rates and popular products. This can help you determine whether you need to add, improve or remove any products on your site that aren’t serving you.
• Feedback: Listen to customer feedback and make necessary improvements. Encourage visitors to write reviews on products or offer a discount if they submit a testimonial on a product they liked.

When launching a website, you have a variety of choices to suit your specific needs, whether you’re seeking simplicity, customization or advanced features. Explore these top website builders to find the perfect fit for your online presence: Wix, Squarespace, Weebly, Shopify and WordPress. Learn more about these options by clicking here.

Enhance your e-commerce experience

It’s important to have a comprehensive e-commerce solution that allows you to sell everywhere with ease: online, in person and across multiple channels. Look for features like POS systems, a branded mobile app, drop-shipping and more, so you can adapt and scale your business effortlessly.

You want to gain complete control of your business by managing all your inventory, orders and sales from one centralized dashboard. You also want to optimize your site traffic with built-in SEO tools, marketing automations and ad campaigns. The ultimate goal is to ensure a seamless experience for your customers.

Kurt’s best website builders for building your online shop

Kurt’s key takeaways

Launching an online shop might seem overwhelming at first, but with the right tools and guidance, it can be a smooth and rewarding process. A comprehensive platform that simplifies everything from design to payment processing can make it easier for you to focus on what you love: selling your products. Remember, every successful store starts with a single step, so don’t hesitate to dive in and start building your dream shop today.

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Now that you’ve learned how to set up your online shop, we’d love to hear from you! What challenges or successes have you experienced in your journey to launch an online store? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.

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Remember that “pandemic garden” you started in 2020 that didn’t quite make it? 

Well, you’re not alone in your plant care struggles. In fact, many people unintentionally send their houseplants to the great compost heap in the sky each year. 

But fear not. There’s a new gadget out there that could change the way we care for our plants.

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SmartyPlants smart sensor (SmartyPlants)

Meet the plant whisperer you never knew you needed

SmartyPlants is a smart sensor designed specifically for houseplants. It takes the guesswork out of plant care. This clever little device monitors crucial factors such as light, humidity, temperature, soil moisture and nutrients and sends all that vital info straight to an app on your smartphone.

SmartyPlants smart sensor (SmartyPlants)

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No more guessing games when it comes to plant care

Gone are the days of wondering, “Does my ficus need water, or am I just being paranoid?” SmartyPlants provides real-time updates on your plant’s needs. And here’s a fun twist: You can name your plants in the app. So when “Dave needs a drink,” you’ll know exactly which of your green buddies is feeling parched.

SmartyPlants smart sensor (SmartyPlants)

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From serial plant killers to green thumb gurus

The brains behind SmartyPlants know the struggle is real. In fact, the Founder and CEO Ben Beaver’s partner was a self-proclaimed “serial plant killer” who had managed to keep only one hardy cactus alive for six years. Drawing on his background in biology and technology, the CEO realized there had to be a better way. After numerous prototypes and tests, SmartyPlants was born, giving even the most challenged plant parents a fighting chance at nurturing thriving indoor jungles.

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Founder and CEO of SmartyPlants Ben Beaver (SmartyPlants)

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More than just a water reminder

SmartyPlants is packed with features that go well beyond simple watering reminders. It can assess your space and recommend plants that would thrive in that specific environment. You can set up automatic watering systems over Wi-Fi, perfect for worry-free vacations.

The device uses AI image analysis to monitor your plant’s progress over time and keeps tabs on past issues to prevent future problems. It doesn’t just measure light intensity but looks at the full spectrum to maximize photosynthesis.

SmartyPlants smart sensor (SmartyPlants)

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SmartyPlants quickly became a sensation

Launched on Kickstarter, SmartyPlants quickly became a sensation. Within just four days, the campaign had over 500 backers and raised more than 10 times its initial target. By the middle of the campaign, they had over 1,000 backers, putting them in the top 1% of all Kickstarter projects. They even snagged a coveted “Projects We Love” award from Kickstarter, given to only the top 10% of projects on the platform.

SmartyPlants app (SmartyPlants)

How can you snag one of these?

You can get your hands on a SmartyPlants sensor by heading over to the SmartyPlants Kickstarter page. For a single sensor, you can grab an early bird discount of approximately $43, 15% off the regular price. If you’re dreaming big, a monster pack of 20 sensors is available for about $605, a whopping 40% discount. Simply back the project and wait for updates on shipping and delivery.

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Remember, this is a Kickstarter campaign, so the usual crowdfunding caveats apply. But given the project’s success and the team’s dedication, it looks like a pretty safe bet for plant lovers.

After reading this article about the SmartyPlants gadget, are you now considering a houseplant to add to your home or office? Well, you’re in luck. After evaluating a wide selection of plants and suppliers, I highly recommend a plant subscription service. Services like these offer a variety of beautiful and easy-to-care-for plants delivered right to your door. It’s a perfect way to start or expand your indoor garden, ensuring you always have fresh greenery to brighten your space. For more information and to get started, check out this link.

SmartyPlants app and smart sensor (SmartyPlants)

Kurt’s key takeaways

Let’s face it, constantly replacing dead plants can get expensive and disheartening. At around $43 for an early-bird Kickstarter deal, SmartyPlants seems like a solid investment if it can keep your green friends alive and thriving. While it can’t protect your plants from curious pets (sorry, Fluffy) or magically turn you into a botanist overnight, SmartyPlants might be the tool you need to achieve that lush, Pinterest-worthy indoor garden you’ve finally been dreaming of.

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What’s your most memorable experience with trying to keep plants alive, and how might a device like SmartyPlants have changed that outcome? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.

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