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Scientists have developed a device that allows amputees to feel warmth in their phantom hand. MiniTouch consists of a small sensor placed on an amputee’s prosthetic finger and electrodes that mimic sensations on the residual arm. The electrodes on the amputated arm are able to relay the temperature of the object being touched by the finger sensor, giving “the illusion that we are cooling down, or warming up, missing fingers”. The researchers said their findings, published in the journal Science, could allow amputees to have temperature-sensing technology built into their prosthetic limbs, without the need for invasive technology. The team said they developed MiniTouch after unexpectedly discovering that amputees somehow are able to feel temperatures in their missing hand. Dr Solaiman Shokur, a neuroengineer and scientist at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, said: “We discovered a new mechanism that we call the thermal phantom sensation.” In an able-bodied person, if something hot or cold is placed on the forearm, that person will feel the object’s temperature directly on their forearm. But in amputees, that temperature sensation on the residual arm may be felt in the phantom, missing hand, the researchers said. Dr Shokur said: “(During the tests) we were expecting for them to tell us, with eyes closed, where they felt it (temperature sensations) on the stump, and if it was hot or cold. “Instead, they pointed into a drawing of a hand that they had in front of them and they told us ‘I feel it there’. “We asked them several times ‘What do you mean by that, I feel it there?’ and then they clarified that they felt it into their phantom missing hand. “So this discovery was crucial for us to develop a neurotechnology that could integrate the prosthetic hand of patients.” The team said they were able to successfully test their bionic technology in 17 out of 27 patients. MiniTouch uses information about an object’s heat conducting properties to determine how hot or cold it is. The scientists said they found that small areas of skin on the amputated arm are able to project temperature sensations to specific parts of the phantom hand, like the thumb, or the tip of an index finger. They also discovered that these temperature sensations between the residual arm and the projected phantom one is unique to each patient. Fabrizio Fidati, an amputee from Italy, who took part in the study, said: “Warmth is the most beautiful feeling there is… like when we need warmth, we use a hot water bottle.” He added: “So far, prostheses have mainly been designed to have simple everyday movements, to help you in your everyday life. “But integrations of sensations of hot and cold, in my opinion, also serves to improve social interactions. “When shaking hands with people, warmth is… fundamental.” Study participant Francesca Rossi, also from Italy, added: “Temperature feedback is a nice sensation because you feel the limb, the phantom limb, entirely. “It does not feel phantom anymore because your limb is back.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Self-driving cars will cause ‘moral panic’ – transport minister Cryptocurrency trading should be regulated as gambling, says treasury committee WhatsApp offers new password protected feature to hide messages

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Microsoft is changing its default typeface for only the second ever time. For 15 years, Microsoft Office and other software has opened with one particular typeface: Calibri. By virtue of being the default look on some of the world’s most popular software, it might have been seen more than any other set of letters. Before that, Microsoft’s documents started with Times New Roman, a typeface that itself became famous largely as a result of being the default option. Now, however, Microsoft is moving on. Microsoft said that it had taken the decision in part because the technology used to display the typeface had changed, and that it needed to update for the higher resolution screens that are used today. And it is doing so with “Aptos”, a new font that was specially commissioned for the company, in a process it described as “exciting, but also intimidating”. It had done so with a view to finding a new font that could replace Calibre and have “sharpness, uniformity, and be great for display type”. Microsoft initially commissioned five new fonts, with the hope that one of them would become the default: Bierstadt, Grandview, Seaford, Skeena, and Tenorite. It added all of them to its software and allowed people to choose them from the picker and give feedback. Based on that information, Microsoft chose “Bierstadt”, and renamed it Aptos, though it will still live on under the old name too. The other fonts that lost out will also stay in the drop-down picker. Aptos will become the default typeface on Microsoft’s software, such as 365, which itself has replaced the well known Office suite. That will mean becoming the default font on Word, Outlook, PowerPoint and Excel and be seen by the hundreds of millions of people who use the software. The rollout will take place over the “next few months”, the company said. The font was named Aptos by its designer, Steve Matteson, after a town in Santa Cruz, where Microsoft said the “widely ranging landscape and climate epitomizes the font’s versatility”. The font was designed with “humanity”, Mr Matteson said, and with a view to allowing it to be “more universal and less mechanical or institutional”, he said in a blog post by Microsoft. For those that don’t like the new font, Microsoft has always offered the option to change the default font – including back to Calibri or Times New Roman. Read More Microsoft’s attempt to buy Call of Duty developer reaches huge new development Twitter starts making payments to its most controversial users What striking Hollywood writers and actors fear about AI replacing roles

PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 16, 2023--

Apple is planning a cheaper version of its upcoming Vision Pro headset, according to reports – though it will still be far from cheap. The company announced its Vision Pro in June, starting at $3,500, and said that it would be coming in early 2024. Immediately, many noticed that the inclusion of the “Pro” in the name suggested that a cheaper version might also be on its way. Now new reports suggest that cheaper headset will cost as much as $2,500. The company is aiming for a price of $1,500 to $2,500, according to a new report from Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman. That would still be considerably more expensive than other augmented reality headsets. The new Meta Quest 3, for instance, starts at $499, and the company has suggested that its lower price is one of the key ways it aims to compete with Apple. To make it cheaper, Apple is aiming to drop one of the key features from the Vision Pro, known as EyeSight. That is a screen that shows a virtual version of the wearer’s eyes on the front of the headset, to make conversations more natural and to give a sense of what the person is doing on the inside. The cheaper headset is also rumoured to include a cheaper processor – likely one from the iPhone, rather than the Mac chip that powers the Vision Pro – as well as fewer cameras and a less high-quality display. Apple has moved resources towards building the cheaper version, Mr Gurman reported in his Bloomberg newsletter. That has also meant moving staff away from devoted the augmented reality glasses that have been assumed to be the end goal of Apple’s work in headsets, but which he suggested had proven “too technically challenging” so far. Read More Google is about to ditch passwords forever You need to update your new iPhone if you want to avoid it getting hot Apple is preparing an urgent iPhone 15 update after they started overheating

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