Researchers at Korea University and TU Berlin are developing an interface allowing users to control an exoskeleton with their minds.
The system basically uses an electroencephalogram, or EEG cap, which is able to read the brain waves of the user. It also, however, needs visual cues to work properly. The results of the study were published in the Journal of Neural Engineering.
For these specific tests, researchers connected a panel with five LED lights on the lower-limb exoskeleton. The lights were arranged in a cross, with each having a different meaning and each blinking at a different frequency. If the left light is blinking, for example, it cues the system to walk in that direction. The user does have to see that light blinking, which gives signals to the EEG cap.
"Exoskeletons create lots of electrical 'noise,'" said Klaus Muller, an author on the paper, in an interview with PhysOrg. "The EEG signal gets buried under all this noise — but our system is able to separate not only the EEG signal, but the frequency of the flickering LED within this signal."
While researchers conducted their tests on perfectly healthy people, the tech could eventually be used to help the disabled, even helping them walk when they couldn't before.
"People with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) [motor neuron disease], or high spinal cord injuries face difficulties communicating or using their limbs," continued Muller. "Decoding what they intend from their brain signals could offer means to communicate and walk again."
The control system is also something that could be used as a simpler way to control other exoskeleton systems. This is especially true with EEG caps and other hardware becoming more popular in consumer markets. In fact, volunteers were able to figure out how to use the system in only a few minutes. One group of people that would not be able to use the system, however, is those with epilepsy, because of the blinking lights. Researchers are now figuring out how to reduce the visual fatigue associated with the long-term use of the system.
The development of exoskeletons is becoming more and more popular. The U.S. army, for example, is developing an exoskeleton designed to improve a soldier's aim. Another is being introduced into airports in Japan, designed to help employees there be able to lift more with less effort.
Via: Engadget
