Swiss scientists have recently demonstrated how a paralyzed individual could control robots with just the power of thought in order to interact with their environment. Although similar experiments have been done by scientists in the United States and Germany, they generally required able bodied patients or painful invasive brain implants.
A team of scientists at Switzerland’s Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne used a simple head cap to record brain signals of Mark-Andre Duc (who lost control of his legs and fingers in a fall and is now considered partially quadriplegic) located at a hospital 62 miles away in the Swiss town of Sion.
His thoughts were then decoded by a laptop at the hospital and transmitted to a one foot tall robot back in Lausanne almost instantly.
While the human brain is perfectly capable of performing several tasks at once, a paralyzed person would have to focus the entire time they are directing the device.
“Sooner or later your attention will drop and this will degrade the signal,” states Jose Millan, who led the Swiss team.
In order to avoid this issue, the team decided to program the computer so it works much like the brain’s subconscious. When a command like ‘walk forward’ is sent, the computer will execute it until told to stop or it hits an obstacle.
The robot is based on previous projects that let patients control an electric wheelchair. By adding the capability of a camera and built in screen, users may even be able to extend their presence to places that they normally would not be able to in a wheelchair, such as art galleries and weddings abroad.
The video below shows one of the previous experiments involving more invasive techniques for a paralyzed individual to control a robotic prosthetic.
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