Wheelchair steered by brainpower
The research could transform the lives of quadriplegics
People who are severely disabled could soon be able to use their mind to move around.
European researchers are developing a wheelchair that can be steered by brainpower.
Users wear an electrode-lined skullcap which reads electrical activity on the surface of the head.
Cutting-edge technology turns these readings into wheelchair movements, according to a report in New Scientist magazine.
Mind control
The technology could transform the lives of people who are quadriplegic. The wheelchair is still in early stages of development but tests are going well. Scientists have been able to move it in three different directions - left, right and forward - using the electrode cap.
The cap reads activity in the brain, a technique, known as electroencephalography (EEG).
This works because a desire to move in a particular direction generates a unique pattern of pattern of brain activity.
Those readings are fed to a computer. State-of-the-art software analyses the readings and turns them into commands, which are passed on to the robot using a wireless link.
The robot is programmed to turn or move only at the next opportunity, which is designed to stop it from hitting or bumping into other objects.
It is also equipped with infrared sensors which can detect other objects.
The technology is being developed by scientists at the Dalle Molle Institute for Perceptual Artificial Intelligence in Switzerland, in conjunction with researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and the Centre for Biomedical Engineering Research in Barcelona.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3089559.stm
The research could transform the lives of quadriplegics
People who are severely disabled could soon be able to use their mind to move around.
European researchers are developing a wheelchair that can be steered by brainpower.
Users wear an electrode-lined skullcap which reads electrical activity on the surface of the head.
Cutting-edge technology turns these readings into wheelchair movements, according to a report in New Scientist magazine.
Mind control
The technology could transform the lives of people who are quadriplegic. The wheelchair is still in early stages of development but tests are going well. Scientists have been able to move it in three different directions - left, right and forward - using the electrode cap.
The cap reads activity in the brain, a technique, known as electroencephalography (EEG).
This works because a desire to move in a particular direction generates a unique pattern of pattern of brain activity.
Those readings are fed to a computer. State-of-the-art software analyses the readings and turns them into commands, which are passed on to the robot using a wireless link.
The robot is programmed to turn or move only at the next opportunity, which is designed to stop it from hitting or bumping into other objects.
It is also equipped with infrared sensors which can detect other objects.
The technology is being developed by scientists at the Dalle Molle Institute for Perceptual Artificial Intelligence in Switzerland, in conjunction with researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and the Centre for Biomedical Engineering Research in Barcelona.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3089559.stm
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