A concise summation of the long-term applications of brain-machine interfaces from Miguel A. L. Nicolelis’ new Scientific American article about the advent of artificial limbs controlled by thought:

“In this futuristic scenario, voluntary electrical brain waves, the biological alphabet that underlies human thinking, will maneuver large and small robots remotely, control airships from afar, and perhaps even allow the sharing of thoughts and sensations of one individual with another over what will become a collective brain-based network.”