Electric Wheelchair Future Technology

This is part 2 of brain controlled assistive devices future…

In first part of the article, we already reviewed the Cyberlink Brainfingers device, and this is the continuation of the article, covering the other two products on market…

The notion of using brain activity to interact with devices isn't new. A number of schools–such as the University of Minnesota; University of California, San Diego; and Purdue–have research labs devoted to decoding thoughts from the brain and manipulating cursors on a screen, which is especially useful for disabled people. In addition, companies have cropped up in the past couple of years claiming to offer an effective brain-computer interface for video games or for biofeedback purposes. For instance, S.M.A.R.T. BrainGames, a company based in San Marcos, CA, sells EEG caps designed to treat people with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder…

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Recently we had an opportunity to see interesting BCI solutions (Brain-Computer Interface), that provide a new communication channel between the human brain and the computer (also allowing operating various devices). As you probably know, mental activity leads to changes of electrophysiological signals like the Electroencephalogram (EEG) or Electrocorticogram (ECoG), and BCI systems detect such changes and transform them into control signals which can, for example, be used as control devices for operating electric wheelchairs.

One of the main goals for BCI devices is to enable completely paralyzed patients (locked-in syndrome) to interact with world around them (use mouse pointer on computer, communicate over internet) and to make their life more accessible (operating electronic devices, driving electric powered wheelchair)…

What seemed to be science fiction yet a decade ago is now a reality. We witnessed the demonstration of three devices, developed by companies with completely different background. The operating details for three devices are way different, yet all devices follow the similar concept, but come at different price tag and availability. Cyberlink’s Brainfingers is already on the market, Emotiv’s is in final stages of development and is scheduled for 2008, and the most advanced one, Guger Technology's g.BCI is still in research and development, although it already shows remarkable advancements.

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