Communications of the ACM
Wheelchair Makes the Most of Brain Control
Ph.D. student Michele Tavella operates a wheelchair using shared control to navigate.
EDFL
A robotic wheelchair combines brain control with artificial intelligence to make it easier for people to maneuver it using only their thoughts. The approach, known as "shared control," could help paralyzed people gain new mobility by turning crude brain signals into more complicated commands.
The wheelchair, developed by researchers at the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, features software that can take a simple command like "go left" and assess the immediate area to figure out how to follow the command without hitting anything. The software can also understand when the driver wants to navigate to a particular object, like a table.
Several technologies allow patients to control computers, prosthetics, and other devices using signals captured from nerves, muscles, or the brain. Electroencephalography (EEG) has emerged as a promising way for paralyzed patients to control computers or wheelchairs. A user needs to wear a skullcap and undergo training for a few hours a day over about five days. Patients control the chair simply by imagining they are moving a part of the body. Thinking of moving the left hand tells the chair to turn left, for example. Commands can also be triggered by specific mental tasks, such as arithmetic.
From Technology Review
View Full Article
No entries found