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February, 2017
Medical Breakthrough: Mind-Controlled Robots
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based brain-computer interface. It re cords weak electrical activity of the subjects’ brains through a special- ized, high-tech EEG cap fitted with 64 electrodes and converts the “thoughts” into action by advanced signal processing and machine learn- ing.
While it works wonderfully,
there is a steep learning curve in- volved. Eight healthy human subjects completed the experimental sessions of the study wearing the EEG cap. Subjects gradually learned to imagine moving their own arms without actu- ally moving them to control a robotic arm in 3D space. They started from learning to control a virtual cursor on computer screen and then learned to control a robotic arm to reach and grasp objects in fixed locations on a table. Eventually, they were able to move the robotic arm to reach and grasp objects in random locations on a table and move objects from the table to a three-layer shelf by only thinking about these movements. All eight subjects could control a
robotic arm to pick up objects in fixed locations with an average success rate above 80 percent and move objects from the table onto the shelf with an average success rate above 70 percent. “This is exciting as all subjects
accomplished the tasks using a com- pletely noninvasive technique. We see a big potential for this research to help people who are paralyzed or have neurodegenerative diseases to become more independent without a need for surgical implants,” He says.
The researchers said the brain-
computer interface technology works due to the geography of the motor cortex — the area of the cerebrum that governs movement. When hu- mans move, or think about a move- ment, neurons in the motor cortex produce tiny electric currents. Think- ing about a different movement acti- vates a new assortment of neurons, a phenomenon confirmed by cross-vali- dation using functional MRI in He’s previous study. Sorting out these re- sults using advanced signal process- ing laid the groundwork for the brain-computer interface used by the University of Minnesota researchers. The robotic arm research builds
upon the scientist’s research pub- lished three years ago in which sub- jects were able to fly a small quad- copter using the noninvasive EEG technology. At the time, the research gained international media attention. “Three years ago, we weren’t
sure moving a more complex robotic arm to grasp and move objects using this brain-computer interface tech- nology could even be achieved,” He says. “We’re happily surprised that it worked with a high success rate and in a group of people.” He anticipates the next step of
his research will be to further devel- op this brain-computer interface technology realizing a brain-con- trolled robotic prosthetic limb at- tached to a person’s body or examine how this technology could work with someone who has had a stroke or is paralyzed. Web:
www.twin-cities.umn.edu r
Unprecedented Alternative To Battery Storage
Continued from page 1
Musk has stated his belief that su- percapacitors are likely to be the technology for future electric air transportation. The present scientif- ic advance could make that vision a reality.
Lightning-Fast Electric Charging The technology was adapted
from the principles used to make soft contact lenses, which Dr. Donald Highgate (of Augmented Optics, and an alumnus of the University of Sur- rey) developed following his post- graduate studies at Surrey 40 years ago.
Supercapacitors, an alternative
power source to batteries, store ener- gy using electrodes and electrolytes and both charge and deliver energy quickly, unlike conventional batter- ies which do so in a much slower, more sustained way. Supercapacitors have the abili-
ty to charge and discharge rapidly over very large numbers of cycles. However, because of their poor ener- gy density per kilogram (approxi- mately just one twentieth of existing battery technology), they have, until now, been unable to compete with conventional battery energy storage in many applications. Dr. Brendan Howlin of the Uni-
See at APEX, Booth 209
versity of Surrey explains, “There is a global search for new energy stor- age technology and this new ultra- capacity supercapacitor has the po- tential to open the door to unimagin-
ably exciting developments.” The research program was con-
ducted by researchers at the Univer- sity of Surrey’s department of chem- istry where the project was initiated by Highgate. The research team was co-led by
the principal investigators Dr. Ian Hamerton and Howlin. Hamerton continues to collaborate on the project in his new post at the University of Bristol, where the electrochemical testing to trial the research findings was carried out by fellow University of Bristol academic David Fermin, a professor of electrochemistry. Hamerton says, “While this re-
search has potentially opened the route to very high density superca- pacitors, these polymers have many other possible uses in which tough, flexible conductive materials are de- sirable, including bioelectronics, sen- sors, wearable electronics, and ad- vanced optics. We believe that this is an extremely exciting and potential- ly game-changing development.” The materials are based on
large organic molecules composed of many repeated subunits and bonded together to form a three-dimensional network. The test results from the new polymers suggest that this tech- nology could be applied in the very near future. The researchers are now seeking commercial partners to sup- ply the polymers and to offer assis- tance to build the high-density ener- gy storage devices. Web:
www.surrey.ac.uk r
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