BRAIN2ROBOT · A Robotic-Arm Orthosis Controlled by Electroencephalography and Gaze for Locked-In Paralytics
FP6 — Marie Curie Actions (Human Resources and Mobility)
- Duration
- 2005-01-01 → 2008-12-31
- EU contribution
- €1,314,753
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- EXT
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Final Activity Report Summary - BRAIN2ROBOT (A Robotic-Arm Orthosis Controlled by Electroencephalography and Gaze for Locked-In Paralytics)
In the MC-EXT project BRAIN2ROBOT a significant step forward was taken in adapting non-invasive brain computer interfaces for neuroprosthetic applications such that they may eventually enter the homes of severely disabled persons with needs for such assistive technology. An assistive robot arm was guided by a combination of eye and head tracking and electroencephalography (EEG) based brain computer interface (BCI) in a demonstration application, whereby subjects (both healthy and disabled) were able to grab objects from a table without moving, a level of functionality previously achieved only with invasive brain computer interfaces in non-human subjects. For this purpose, a 3-dimensional gaze tracking system had to be developed and implemented, combining head and eye tracking, and the Berlin Brain Computer Interface developed at the host institute had to be adapted for robotic control. The resulting combination of eye-tracking and BCI was shown to be complementary and beneficiary for human-machine interface use. Importantly, a cooperative investigation was undertaken in which important lessons were learned from experiments involving 9 tetraplegic volunteers, about the proficiency of BCI users in the targeted population, the challenges of BCI training and use for these users, and the feasibility and rehabilitative benefit of robot control by gaze and noninvasive BCI. The gaze-BCI-robot control application was also shown in various public demonstrations - this receiving significant public and media exposure. While the core technology of Brain2Robot promises eventual benefits to disabled persons, at little or no risk due to its non-invasive nature, the basic components of the user interface must be made more practical, at lower cost, such that they may enter everyday use. To this purpose, patented innovation in sensor technology was brought forth: dry contact electrodes were developed which can be applied within minutes and used repeatedly, unlike the previous standard of EEG recording equipment which about a half-hour of expertly applied liquid gel. This technology was also publicly demonstrated using volunteers, another first in BCI development. Other advances led by the Team and its members include the development of a method of BCI use which does not require training - also needed to enhance practicability of BCI use, the use of EEG BCI in motor adaptation to continuous position control towards future wearable neuroprosthetics and the testing of video- and virtual reality- inspired feedback and training cues for improving BCI performance in novel subjects.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
The project is an interdisciplinary effort, blending human motor physiology with engineering in order to create an intuitively controlled robotic orthosis which, for the first time, restores arm movement and basic functionality needed by severely paralysed (locked-in) patients. There have been internationally spread efforts to do so based on prosthetic technology and electrophysiology, but so far none have made a clinical impact. The unique combination of technologies we propose aims to overcome practical challenges, which have so far merely promised breakthroughs. The pneumatic robot will be inexpensive and light, fitting snugly around a patient's arm. The issue of transmitting commands from the user's brain to the paralysed limb or orthotically assisted arm has been the subject of the young field of electroencephalography-based brain-computer interfaces (EEG BCI).Shortcomings of current efforts, corruption of electrode signals by head/eye motion, and limited data transmission rate are overcome by using gaze tracking to encode target position information for reaching. The BCI would be based on an advanced, reliable design developed at the host institution, which discriminates EEG readiness potentials for different motor action intentions. Mapping motor action to new motor action, whose performance and stability is ensured by the robot, helps preserve intuitiveness of use. The project presents a new line of research in robotics and BCI, is geared to solving an urgent clinical need, but also opens up new possibilities of research into basic questions about motor physiology and brain function and organisation. Finally, the proposer is given an opportunity to use the full spectrum of his interdisciplinary expertise, and create a small research group that can potentially train a new generation of young scientists in a fast-evolving area of research.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- FRAUNHOFER-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FOERDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG E.V. · MUENCHENCoordinatorGermany
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union