#MindControl: New Prosthetic Arm Controlled by Memory of Movement

First Commercial Mind-controlled Arm Approved by FDA 

Prosthetics have a long history. Possibly the earliest prosthetic limb is an artificial leg, which dates back to around 300 B.C. and was discovered in Capua, Italy. The limb was cast in bronze and iron with a wooden core, and it is believed it was meant more to make the wearer feel whole, rather than for any functional use. Since then, prosthetics have certainly come a long way. These days, developers realize that amputees have a wide range of varying needs and there is no one-size-fits-all, solution to prosthetic limbs. With this in mind, today's most sophisticated artificial limbs have the ultimate in functionality due to their capability to interact directly with the brain.

The field of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) is expanding rapidly. We have already seen the development of BCIs to control computer programs, and move prosthetic hands and arms. Now, scientists at the University of Houston in Texas have developed a BCI that can control robotic legs.

According to a report in the Times of News, scientists in China have recently developed a robotic arm that is controlled by the user’s brainwaves. For the first time, the arm has been used on a human subject. The device gives hope for individuals who have lost a limb or suffer from motor disabilities.

Brain-computer-interface technology is moving along by leaps and bounds. In recent years, it has expanded beyond the labratory to fields as diverse as the medical industry and gaming. One of the most recent applications is mind-controlled aviation. Professor Florian Holzapfel and his research team at the Institute for Flight System Dynamics of the Technische Universität München (TUM), Germany, are studying how to make brain-wave controlled flight a possibility. According to the Transport Research and Innovation Panel, earlier studies showed that neuron activity can produce enough information to control electronic devices using only brain-wave signals. The EU funded project, known as “Brainflight,” uses neural signals from a pilot’s brain to allow him or her to control an aircraft while multitasking. A report in Yahoo News describes the preliminary simulations, which involved seven pilots, each wearing a cap fitted with an array of electroencephalography (EEG) electrodes designed to record neural signals from the pilot’s brain. Cables attached to the EEG transmitted the brain signals to a computer programed with a specially developed BCI algorithm. Upon receiving the transmissions, the computer converted them into control command that were conducted wirelessly. By thinking alone, the pilots were able to perform take-offs and landings, as well as maintain a fixed direction. Although project Brainflight is currently testing the functionality of BCI flight control in high fidelity flight simulators, once the team has fine-tuned the parameters, the BCI flight control program will be tested in a real UAV with the aim of applying the process to transport systems in years to come. In an interview with Livescience, Tim Frike, an aerospace engineer at TUM says that once the technology is perfected, such an intuitive mode of flying will be safer and even pilots with little flying experience could take advantage of the new technology. Image credit: A. Heddergott/TU München

Imagine if playing music was as simple at looking at your laptop screen. Now it is thanks to Kenneth Camilleri and his team of researchers from the Department of Systems and Control Engineering and the Centre for Biomedical Cybernetics at the University of Malta, who have developed a music player that can be controlled by the human brain.