Brain controlled wheelchair displayed
Toyota displayed a brain controlled wheelchair in Japan. The car company has been working on man kinds of control systems for their cars and this came out of a research group within the car company. The heart of the system is a computer that runs a special program called a neural network. Neural nets have been around for many years but it has been difficult to train them easily so they perform the actions needed. The networks function similarly to our own brains,creating connections between motor movement and sensors. Where our brains utilized data from the five senses and then move the legs and arms properly so we can walk. The computer takes input from electrodes placed on the skull of the patient and turns on motors to move the wheelchair or to turn the steering wheels. (Source: Informationweek)
The more time the patient invests with the computer, the better it gets at deciding what to do. The computer takes repeated inputs to do the same actions until the correct response is given for a particular thought. According to researchers at Toyota, the chair can be full trained in seven days if at least three hours are given each day to teach. Because the neural network has been so easy to train, they are planning to use the same technology in the movement of arms and hands. Typically artificial arms move by pulling muscles in the back or shoulder. By using the computer, the patient can just think about moving their arm or hands and the function just as their original limbs.
This is very important research for disabled people that are confined to wheelchairs or beds. The best technology consists of a laser mounted to the forehead and a computer reads where the laser points to on the screen. Various commands are displayed on the screen and the patient can pick which one the want to use. But that is nowhere near the capability of actually moving arms or the wheelchair by think about it. So instead of waiting for a computer to figure out what command is pointed to, a hand can pick up a glass and bring it up to their lips. This technology can bring a much better lifestyle to the patient by allowing them to do day to day activities that were all but impossible before.
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