This bionic arm sounds like science fiction — but it’s not

Researchers at the University of Utah and Biologic Input Output Systems (BIOS) have developed a ‘brain-computer interface that turns Luke Skywalker vision into reality’

There was a slight whirring sound as Avi Davidson moved a pawn two spaces forward on the chess board, his robotic arm placing it with precision as he completed his turn.

Despite the fact that Davidson lost the lower half of his arm nearly 17 years ago, he could feel the edges of the small chess piece as he held it between robotic fingers — with the apt amount of pressure to stabilize his grip.

How was this possible?

A small device inside the nerves and muscles in Davidson’s upper arm was receiving the neurological signals sent by Davidson’s brain, amplifying them using an advanced computer and, using AI technology, translating the signals into intended movements in the robotic hand.

Read full story here: https://www.deseret.com/utah/2026/09/18/university-of-utah-bionic-arm-sounds-like-science-fiction-its-not/