Communications of the ACM
How to se Mind-Controlled Robots in Manufacturing, Medicine
Researchers at the University of Buffalo are working on ways to control robots with their minds.
Credit: Emotiv
University of Buffalo researchers are developing brain-computer interfaces (BCI) to control robots with their minds.
The researchers recently demonstrated their BCI technology, which they note is relatively inexpensive at a cost of $750 and is a non-invasive external device. The technology is designed to read electroencephalography brain activity using 14 sensors and transmit signals wirelessly to a computer, which then sends them to a robot to control its movements.
Pramod Chembrammel, a doctoral student in the Virtual Reality Laboratory, spent a few days training the device then successfully controlled a robotic arm. Chembrammel used his thoughts to get the robotic arm to insert a wood peg into a hole and rotate the peg. "It was incredible to see the robot respond to my thoughts," he says.
Buffalo professor Thenkurussi Kesavadas says the technology potentially could provide relief to factory workers who perform repetitious tasks, improving productivity as well as safety, and paraplegic patients could use it to better control assistive devices.
From KurzweilAI.net
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