With impermanence and change happening daily in our world and ourselves – we take a look into our changing world of technology to give you some more exciting news in the realm of BCI. This week: a 3D controlled virtual environment using BCI, and the possibility of developing a real life Iron Man suit!
1/ BCI Steers Helicopter Through a Virtual World
If you thought seeing the movie Avatar in 3D was a ride, imagine how cool it would be to participate in your own virtual world! This month, a team of neuroscientist engineers led by Dr. Bin He at the University of Minnesota have successfully created a brain-computer interface that allows users to navigate a machine through a virtual 3D environment.
We’ve recently touched on virtual gaming BCI, but never before have tasks involved incredibly accurate 3D control without the use of invasive brain electrodes. Using a sensorimotor rhythm from EEG sensors, subjects were trained with left/right arm, leg, tongue and rest imaginations to move a helicopter through a series of rings on a computer screen.
Watch the video yourself to see what happened to the helicopter when you imagine moving parts of your body, and read the full study here.
2/ Iron Man Suit Could Become Reality in 30 Years
High-tech suits – similar to the comic and Hollywood blockbuster hit Iron Man are already in the research and development phase, according to a neuroscientist from the University of Victoria. In UVic News, Dr. Paul Zehr, professor and author of the just-released book Inventing Iron Man: The Possibility of a Human Machine, envisions a bionic suit that can help humans recover motor functions after experiencing debilitating physical injuries.
Keeping moral and ethical implications in mind about brain-computer interfaces, Zehr is bridging the fantasy of superhero comics and the innovations of real-life scientists.
For more information about finding your inner superhero, check out his other book Becoming Batman: The Possibility of a Superhero, and visit his homepage at www.zehr.ca
Also this week, InteraXon is in New York City creating all kinds of buzz…
