Put on your thinking cap: robotic arm can be controlled with your mind
Research could help those who are paralyzed or have neurodegenerative diseases
Researchers have found a way for people to control a robotic arm using their brain, without having anything surgically implanted.
The discovery could help millions of people who are paralyzed or have neurodegenerative diseases, researchers from the University of Minnesota state say.
The study, published in Scientific Reports, used an electroencephalography (EEG) based brain-computer interface which recorded weak electrical activity of the subjects brain through a specialized, EEG cap fitted with 64 electrodes and converts thoughts into action by advanced signal processing and machine learning.
"This is the first time in the world that people can operate a robotic arm to reach and grasp objects in a complex 3D environment using only their thoughts without a brain implant," leading researcher Bin He stated in a news release. "Just by imagining moving their arms, they were able to move the robotic arm."
The participants started by learning to control a virtual cursor before learning how to operate the robotic arm to pick up objects on a table and move them to a three-layer shelf.
The success rate for picking up an object was 80 per cent, and 70 per cent for moving an object from the table to the shelf, the researchers state.
In the past, promising research has studied the efficacy of an invasive technique, using neuromuscular electrical stimulation through a brain implant.
The non-invasive EEG cap eliminates the need for surgery and placing the electrodes takes minimal time, the researchers state, which could "potentially serve the needs of a large population."
Previously, He used the non-invasive technology to examine if people could fly a small quadcopter using their thoughts.
"Three years ago, we weren't sure moving a more complex robotic arm to grasp and move objects using this brain-computer interface technology could ever be achieved," He said.