'Mental typewriter' controlled by thought alone
<http://www.newscientist.com/channel/info-tech/dn8826.html>
* 18:35 09 March 2006
* NewScientist.com news service
* Will Knight

The "mental typewriter" could also be used as a games controller
(Image: Fraunhofer Institute)

A computer controlled by the power of thought alone has been
demonstrated at a major trade fair in Germany.

The device could provide a way for paralysed patients to operate
computers, or for amputees to operate electronically controlled
artificial limbs. But it also has non-medical applications, such as in
the computer games and entertainment industries.

The Berlin Brain-Computer Interface (BBCI) – dubbed the "mental
typewriter" – was created by researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute
in Berlin and Charité, the medical school of Berlin Humboldt University
in Germany. It was shown off at the CeBit electronics fair in Hanover,
Germany.

The machine makes it possible to type messages onto a computer screen
by mentally controlling the movement of a cursor. A user must wear a
cap containing electrodes that measure electrical activity inside the
brain, known as an electroencephalogram (EEG) signal, and imagine
moving their left or right arm in order to manoeuvre the cursor around.

"It's a very strange sensation," says Gabriel Curio at Charité. "And
you can understand from the crowds watching that the potential is
huge."
Learning algorithms

Curio says users can operate the device just 20 minutes after going
through 150 cursor moves in their minds. This is because the device
rapidly learns to recognise activity in the area of a person's motor
cortex, the area of the brain associated with movement. "The trick is
the machine-learning algorithms developed at the Fraunhofer Institute,"
Curio says.

John Chapin, an expert in using implanted electrodes to control
computers, agrees EEG sensing technology is advancing rapidly. "There's
been a lot of progress on the non-invasive side in recent years," he
told New Scientist.

The German researchers hope to develop a commercial version of the
device as an aid for paralysed patients and amputees.

Chapin adds that brain-computer interfaces could have a range of uses
beyond the medical. "Signals from the brain give you a fraction of a
second advantage," he says. The device could make a novel game
controller and be used in other ways. The researchers have even begun
testing the machine as a driving aid, as it can sense a sudden reaction
and control a vehicle's brakes before even the driver can.

The next stage is to develop a cap that does not have to be attached
directly to the scalp. This should make the device easier to use and
cause less skin irritation for the wearer.
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Weblinks

* Berlin Brain-Computer Interface
* http://ida.first.fhg.de/projects/bci/bbci_official/index_en.html
* FIRST, Fraunhofer
* http://www.first.fraunhofer.de/en/home
* Charite
* http://www.charite.de/kompakt/english/p0.00_frame.html
* John K Chapin, University of Rochester
* http://www.downstate.edu/pharmacology/chapin.htm

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Printed on Sun Mar 12 22:29:20 GMT 2006