Exoskeletons and new interfaces
Scientists teach a computer to read minds
The XX International Scientific and Technical Conference "Neuroinformatics-2018", organized with the participation of the National Research Nuclear Institute "MEPhI" (NRU MEPhI), gathered in Moscow the largest experts in the field of artificial neural networks, neurobiology and systems biophysics. The report of Mikhail Lebedev, Scientific Director of the HSE Center for Bioelectric Interfaces, senior researcher at Duke University, on the latest developments in the field of creating a brain-computer interface, aroused keen interest among the conference participants. The scientist told the correspondent of the project "Social Navigator" MIA "Russia Today" about the importance of research in this area.
– Mikhail Albertovich, what is the brain-computer interface and what is it for?
– This is a device that reads brain signals, reads thoughts, as it were, and then sends these signals to some external devices.
The first task of the brain-computer interface is to restore motor functions in paralyzed patients.
With spinal cord injury in humans, the connection between the brain and the hands and, more often, the legs is often interrupted. But the brain remains perfectly normal, and it contains all the areas that can reproduce movement. Therefore, by recording all brain signals, decoding them and directing them to prostheses or stimulating the muscles of the person himself, we can restore movement.
Patients with lateral amyotrophic sclerosis are completely paralyzed, and they cannot communicate with the outside world in any way, although their consciousness works perfectly. They need means of communication, so we read their brain signals and connect them to a computer. Thanks to this, patients can send signals outside and communicate with other people.
– Do the new interfaces give other opportunities to patients?
– Yes, they help to eliminate various sensory disorders. For example, a paralyzed person ceases to feel the paralyzed parts of the body, instead phantom pain comes. By stimulating the brain, on the one hand, we can artificially cause a lost sensation, and on the other hand, remove phantom pain, which is also associated with impaired body functions.
If we move on, we can imagine that at some point these interfaces will help improve brain function even in healthy people.
There are already firms that say: "We'll connect you to a video game," and so on. Of course, this is a scam, because they do not record real brain signals, but record some other signals related to body movement or to the electrical activity of the facial muscles.
But this is something to strive for. While such a "brain improvement" is not necessary for a healthy person, but I can well imagine a situation in the future when it will be fashionable to have an implant, connect it to gadgets and use it somehow.
– Don't you think it's scary?
– Yes, there is some danger in this, and now philosophers and ethicists are thinking about these issues. But while the development and implementation of such implants is a distant prospect, not even tomorrow, but the day after tomorrow.
– Can the research of the brain-computer interface give an impetus to the development of robotics?
– The outstanding physicist Richard Feynman used to say: "I will begin to understand something only when I can do it."
It's not difficult to describe how the interface works – we connect it to the brain, restore motor functions, and so on. Everything is clear and understandable. But putting this into practice is a completely different matter.
There are completely new tasks for roboticists. For example, how to create an exoskeleton for a paralyzed patient.
Currently, a completely paralyzed patient cannot yet be placed in an exoskeleton. Robotics is not ready for this yet – a person is too heavy, and it is very difficult to balance his weight in an upright position.
But there are already exoskeletons for patients with paralyzed legs, they use crutches when walking and are perfectly rehabilitated. When walking, such a patient looks almost indistinguishable from a healthy person. And we see how, in solving this problem, different scientific disciplines come together, give each other an impetus for development, useful and mutually beneficial exchange.
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