A telepath in a wheelchair

Scientists have taught a monkey to control a wheelchair with the help of thoughts

DailyTechInfo based on Duke University Materials: Monkeys Drive Wheelchairs Using Only Their Thoughts

Technologies for controlling computers and machines with the help of thoughts have been the subject of particularly intensive research in recent years. In this field, an exciting symbiosis of neuroscience, electronics and robotics, significant advances have been achieved, implemented in the form of various types of direct brain-Computer Interface (Brain-Machine Interface, BMI). With the help of such interfaces, people can transmit their thoughts over distances, control computers, robots, drones and even other people. And recently, researchers from Duke University have completed the development and created another similar system that allows a monkey to control the movement of a wheelchair with only one thought.

Some groups of researchers have achieved success with the help of electroencephalography (EEG) technologies, which, with the help of specialized "hats", allow reading signals of nervous activity from the brain, decoding them and turning them into control commands. However, such a non-invasive technology has a number of significant limitations and disadvantages, so researchers from Duke University went the other way.

"In some cases, people with disabilities, and such technologies are primarily designed for them, cannot even blink their eyes," says Miguel Nicolelis, a leading scientist, "It is in such cases that the use of non-invasive EEG is clearly not enough, it requires at least the introduction of special intracranial implants. Only direct reading of signals can provide reliable control of a wheelchair and other devices."

The implant, developed by the group of Miguel Nicolelis, consists of hundreds of micronites, the thickness of which does not exceed the thickness of a human hair. These electrode arrays are installed on the premotor and somatosensory areas of the brain, providing the removal of signals from the activity of neurons in these areas.

Work in this direction was started in 2012 and scientists trained experimental monkeys to ride a bicycle to their food bowl. At the same time, specialized software was created that converts brain signals into digital form and commands, which were subsequently used to control the movement of an automated wheelchair. The monkey, trained to ride a bicycle, only needed to think about moving towards the food bowl and the chair immediately started this movement. Over time, the monkeys adapted to the control of the chair, after which they could ride it faster, straighter and more efficient in general.

Meanwhile, scientists, analyzing the flow of data received, noticed some unexpected elements related to the assessment of the distance to the bowl of food by the monkey's brain. "These were signals completely different from the signals that we registered at the very beginning of the learning process. And this is a consequence of the fact that our animals have gained considerable experience in managing a wheelchair," says Nicolelis, "This is extremely surprising and it serves as a vivid demonstration of the flexibility of the brain, which is constantly assimilating, adapting to changes in the surrounding world."

Currently, scientists have managed to capture and decode signals from about 300 individual neurons. However, the technology was originally designed to take signals from 2,000 neurons, and scientists are now working to dramatically increase the number of "connected" neurons. And an increase in the amount of captured information, in turn, will greatly increase the accuracy of the mental control system.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru  14.03.2016