Feb 25 2011
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) will provide financial assistance of $6 million, for the next three years, to conduct research relating to the implementation of brain-computer interface technology on human subjects.
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory have successfully conducted tests of the brain-computer interface (BCI) on monkeys.
The research team has demonstrated that a small array of electrodes placed on the surface of a monkey's brain can activate individual neurons to guide a robotic arm. Ongoing research has proved that animals can perform simple tasks such as turning doorknobs using the BCI technology.
Andrew Schwartz, a professor of neurobiology at the Pitt School of Medicine, has worked on several projects that study about converting the brain's electrical activity into physical movements. Initially, Schwartz showed that monkeys can move cursors on computer screens by using its brain.
The Research team has already discussed many ideas during a brainstorming session aimed at exploring the various advanced approaches to the implementation of the BCI technology on humans. A new study for testing two separate electrodes and a telemetry system on humans is planned to take place soon. This study will enable human participants’ to control their prosthetic arms using sensory components.
Source: http://www.jhuapl.edu/