For the wheelchair-mounted robotic arm, the person in the wheelchair looks at directional arrows flashing across a small screen. When the arrow points in the direction that they want to go, their brain lights up on the EEG, and the wheelchair or robotic arm moves accordingly,reported msnbc.
A wheelchair-mounted robotic arm controlled by thought alone has been created by scientists at the University of South Florida.The device could give people with amytrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or full body paralysis the ability to perform simple day to day functions that would otherwise be impossible.
Over time, patients with ALS slowly lose control over their muscle movement, losing the ability to move their arms, legs and eventually all muscles except those around the eye. Patients with ALS have fully functional brains, but have no way to express their thoughts.
EEG scans offer one way for patients with ALS to Communicate with the outside world. By fitting patients with a head cap equipped with electrodes and filled with an electrically conductive gel, scientists can monitor particular kinds of electrical impulses coursing through the brain.
For the wheelchair-mounted robotic arm, the person in the wheelchair looks at directional arrows flashing across a small screen. When the arrow points in the direction that they want to go, their brain lights up on the EEG, and the wheelchair or robotic arm moves accordingly.
This doesn't happen at the speed of thought, however. Turning the wheelchair or moving the robotic arm takes about seven seconds as the arrows cycle across the screen. The wheel chair or arm continues in that direction until it receives a new command.The wheelchair or arm could move faster, but it might not move as accurately, said Alaqsemi. The next step for the USF scientists is to refine the model's hardware and software, to increase speed and reliability while cutting down on weight.
Right now the robotic arm can lift about four pounds, about the weight of a gallon of milk. In the next version Alqasemi hopes to double the payload.
