An international research team – led by the lab of Woon-Hong Yeo at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) – combined wireless soft-scalp electronics and virtual reality (VR) in a BMI system that allows the user to imagine an action and wirelessly control a wheelchair or robotic arm.
The technology could even help those struggling with locked-in syndrome – when a person is fully conscious but unable to move or communicate.
“The major advantage of this system to the user, compared to what currently exists, is that it is comfortable to wear, and doesn’t have any wires,” said Yeo, associate professor Georgia Tech’s School of Mechanical Engineering.
BMI systems are a rehabilitation technology that analyses a person’s brain signals and translates that neural activity into commands, turning intentions into actions. The most common non-invasive method for acquiring those signals is ElectroEncephaloGraphy, or EEG, which typically requires a cumbersome...