Terminally ill Doctor becomes the world's first full cyborg
A terminally ill scientist who has motor neurone disease has become the world’s first person to become a full-blown cyborg.
61-year-old Dr Peter Scott-Morgan, was diagnosed with the muscle wasting disease two years ago and decided to do something about it before it was too late. He said he wanted to push the boundaries of what science can achieve so decided to extend his life and become fully robotic, now referring to himself as Peter 2.0.
Roboticist Dr Scott-Morgan has developed an avatar of his own face before any muscle loss takes hold, so essentially he’ll be able to preserve his facial expressions and reactions. He’s also looked into eye-tracking technology which will allow him to use multiple computers using his eyes.
Here’s Dr Scott-Morgan latest tweet where he shares the news about undergoing the final procedure on his journey to become a ‘full cyborg’:
The tweet refers to Dr Scott-Morgan having his final procedure which is a laryngectomy - where he trades in his voice for extra years of his life. Losing his voice now means he will avoid the danger of saliva getting into his lungs and suffocating him. However, family members don’t need to worry about never hearing him speak again, as he has already ‘banked’ his voice using an advanced and personality infused –vocal synthesiser. He said:
VOICE BANKING - BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT! I’m spending 30 hours in this recording studio to research how to add not just Expressiveness to my existing synthesised voice so I don’t sound robotic, but ALSO add some Personality. Really? Really. Really?? Yes, REALLY! See what I mean?!?
He continues:
Almost everything about me is going to be irreversibly changed - body and brain.It goes without saying that all my physical interaction with the world will become robotic. And naturally, my existing five senses are going to be enhanced.
But far more importantly, part of my brain, and all of my external persona, will soon be electronic - totally synthetic.
From then on, I’ll be part hardware, part wetware, part digital, part analogue. And it won’t stop there: I’ve got more upgrades in progress than Microsoft. Mine isn’t just a version change. It’s a metamorphosis.
This is a terminal disease like you’ve never seen it before. And as far as I’m concerned, bring it on. MND (Motor Neurone Disease) hasn’t even begun to bring me to my knees. And even long after I’m locked in, I will still be standing tall.
Damn. This is the most incredible thing I’ve ever read. It’s got a touch of the San Junipero’s about it. I can’t wait to see what else science can do to help other terminally ill people.
