Communications of the ACM
Chinese Scientists Create Robot Arm Powered By Thought That Can Play Rock-Paper-Scissors
Chinese scientists are working on a type of robotic arm that can be powered by brain waves.
Credit: SCMP
Zhejiang University researchers have equipped a patient with a special robotic arm that she can control with the power of her thoughts.
The researchers started the project in 2006, and by 2012 had demonstrated that a monkey could command a robotic arm to pinch or grasp. Now the technology has been adapted for human use.
"Compared to [previous] robotic hands controlled by monkeys, this technology is tailored for human use, [and] thus is more challenging," says Zhejiang professor Zheng Xiaoxiang.
The researchers found the patient could control the robotic hand with her mind with about 80-percent accuracy. Although the researchers used a previously-developed brain-wave-reading implant, they were able to eavesdrop on the electric signals passing between the implant and medical equipment without affecting the treatment for the first time.
"The implant was buried in the [patient's] cerebral cortex with minimum damage by surgery, so it can read more sophisticated and various brain waves," Zheng says. The robotic hand reads the patient's brainwaves through the implant and translates them into actions.
Zhejiang professor Zhang Jianmin says the latest experiment showed Chinese progress in brain-machine interface research, bringing new hope to patients afflicted with motor dysfunctions in their limbs.
From South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)
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