Research and science fiction has been fascinated by brain-machine or brain-computer interfaces – BCI for short – since the early 1970s
Quite apart from cyborgs and the game industry, the most important application potentials lie in thought-controlled communication and movement support of physically disabled persons. Today BCIs stand on the threshold between laboratory prototypes and user-friendly real applications. Under the auspices of Graz University of Technology, a BCI road map has been developed for BCI research in the coming ten years for the Horizon 2020 EU funding programme. The road map gives a global perspective on BCI research, demonstrates potentials and challenges, and articulates the present gaps between current and future applications.
Market potential between man and machine
As Gernot Müller-Putz from the Institute of Knowledge Discovery at Graz University of Technology, an internationally recognised BCI expert who coordinated the development of the research road map, explains: “In specific terms the BCI road map serves as an orientation guide for research-funding authorities but also presents the research world with a qualified view about the state of affairs and BCI trends.“ BCIs have not only come a long way in research, they meanwhile have an enormous market potential – and not only in the field of medicine. “We have identified some 150 companies worldwide concerned with BCI, from technology firms and the marketing sector to the aviation industry. Commercial applications in the entertainment industry are moving increasingly into the spotlight. Without them, BCIs would become unaffordable in the foreseeable future. Our Horizon 2020 road map sketches a path to the actual, affordable and user-friendly application of BCIs,“ says Müller-Putz.
BCI now and in the future
The international team behind the BCI road map illustrated its findings with fictive case studies. BCIs of the future can replace, restore, improve and extend bodily functions. “This begins with the ability to communicate, takes place by means of the stimulation of muscles and nerves and extends to enhanced attention capacity,“ summarises Müller-Putz. In the year 2025, there will be a broad range of brain-controlled applications which, according to the BCI road map, will be standard in medical treatment and therapy and also in monitoring personal health. Apart from brain signals, there will also be other bio-signals, like heartbeat or the electrical conductivity of the skin, which will play a role in the seamless and intuitive connection between man and machine.
Current focus on neuroprosthetic grippers at Graz
Gernot Müller-Putz, together with his team at Graz University of Technology, is currently coordinating a three-year EU research project called “MoreGrasp“ with the aim of developing an extremely adaptable neuroprosthetic gripper. If you can no longer grip an object, for example in paraplegia, many everyday tasks from cooking to cleaning your teeth are impossible. Suddenly you are continually reliant on help. Personalised neuroprosthetic grippers can be an enormous help and can give you back sizeable quality of life. The development is based on the fact that brainwave patterns change when you think of certain movements. The brain-computer interface measures these patterns and the neuroprosthetic device stimulates particular muscles in the arms and hands in a targeted way until they move.
Read more: Research Road Map for Brain-Computer Interfaces
The Latest on: Brain-Computer Interface
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Brain-Computer Interface” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Brain-Computer Interface
- Country hastens brain-machine interface R&Don May 19, 2024 at 6:54 pm
This innovative achievement in the application of China's brain-machine interface technology was unveiled at the ... BMI — as a frontier technology of human-computer interaction — has been a major ...
- Neuralink looking for second participant for its brain implant, aims for full body control: Elon Muskon May 18, 2024 at 3:12 am
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, announced on Saturday that his brain-computer interface company, Neuralink, has successfully implanted its chip in the first human patient, Noland Armagh. This ...
- Neuralink knew for years that tiny wires in brain were an issue, Reuters sayson May 17, 2024 at 1:29 pm
Elon Musk’s Neuralink has long known about significant durability and reliability issues with its tiny wires, which are designed to detect and stimulate neural activity, yet deemed the risk too low ...
- Neuralink seeks its next brain implant volunteeron May 17, 2024 at 8:24 am
Neuralink is accepting applications for a second human participant in its ongoing brain-computer interface (BCI) implant trials, according to Elon Musk. The co-founder and owner’s social media ...
- Elon Musk's Neuralink accepting applications for second brain implant participanton May 17, 2024 at 7:34 am
Neuralink, Elon Musk's startup aimed at helping quadriplegics gain independence, is accepting applications for a second participant to get a cybernetic brain implant.
- Neuralink Just Released the Game Used to Test Its Experimental Brain-Computer Interfaceon May 17, 2024 at 3:44 am
N euralink is challenging members of the public to test their skill at the reaction game used to test its N1 brain chip, and see how their score stacks up against that of the first human recipient of ...
- Device Decodes ‘Internal Speech’ in the Brainon May 16, 2024 at 8:30 am
Technology that enables researchers to interpret brain signals could one day allow people to talk using only their thoughts ...
- Brain Computer Interface Market Worth $506 million | MarketsandMarkets™on May 15, 2024 at 8:15 am
CHICAGO, May 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Brain Computer Interface Market in terms of revenue was estimated to be worth $262 million in 2024 and is poised to reach $506 million by 2029, growing at a CAGR ...
- Human with Neuralink brain chip sees improvement after initial malfunction, company sayson May 11, 2024 at 5:03 am
Neuralink has fixed an initial setback, writing that a small malfunction seen with the brain chip no longer impacts a patient's ability to use a computer.
- What You Need To Know About Brain-Computer Interfaceson May 10, 2024 at 3:15 am
In my opinion, the least invasive technology will win out in the end. Similar to how the hybrid approach is winning with electric vehicles right now.
via Bing News