Friday, June 6, 2014

World Cup 2014 : The Symbolic First Kick

For Professor Nicolelis  it is indeed a  Symbolic First Kick !

Watch out for the opening ceremony  of the World Cup 2014 in  at the Arena de Sao Paulo next week. Amidst the uproar and exuberance there would be a moment of complete silence. A paraplegic youth wearing a robotic suit with an EEG sensor cap will be wheeled into the stadium.  He will  help himself from the wheelchair , advance a few steps and kick a soccer ball. The brain behind the spotlight event is Professor  Miguel Nicolelis of the Duke University, Durham, N. Carolina. A renowned neuroscientist  with special interest in the area of  Brain- Computer interface. Prof. Nicolelis   wants to showcase the immense potential and promises that science and technology hold for human race.   Prof. Nicolelis is providing proof  for a concept called Shared Control  where the disabled  person has to imagine  movements to empower his robotic limbs. Prof Nicolelis explains :    "Part of the higher order decision is done by the brain and the low-level movement is enacted by the robot.  Higher order decisions include "start walking" , "stop walking", "accelerate", "slow down", "turn left", "turn right", "kick the ball". 
A minimalistc view of the  exoskeleton is as follows : 

  • EEG sensor cap which will pick up signals from the brain, 
  • Backpack that will carry a computer,  battery power and hydraulics; computer would translate the brain signals to the robotic limbs, battery and hydraulics together will empower the robotic limbs  
  • Gyroscopes to keep balance 
  • Sensors in the Footplates to monitor  steps and feed the info back into the system. 

In the meanwhile  US FDA( United States Food and Drug Administration) has just recently been approved  . the DEKA Arm . That means the product is now available in the market.   Designed to be of great help for  upper arm amputees, the project was conceived and conducted by the US Army Research Office  less than a decade ago.  Videos demonstrate   the capabilities of the prosthetic arm from picking up a tiny grape to more complex tasks. This bionic arm  is comparable to the human arm in size and shape but not in looks. The semitransparent outer cover retains the robotic look. The electronic package is a set of   EMG (electromyograph) electrodes together with additional assembly of switches, sensors etc.  The EMG electrodes pick up signals from muscle/device interface sends to a micro processor which ensures the desired movement. If you are wondering about the unusual name of DEKA for a bionic arm, well it stands for the inventor entrepreneur Dean Kamen.  He has about 400+ US and international patents to his credit and that is the recipient of several medals and honor including the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.  Dean Kamen shot into fame with  the personal vehicle Segway. 



1.Kickoff looms for demo of brain controlled machine : Science 6th June 2014, Vol. 344, pages 1069-70
2.A Brain-Machine Interface enables bimanual arm movements in monkeys. Ifft etal  Science Transl.Med. 6 Nov. 2013 Vil.5 pages 210ra154
3.FDA approves high-tech prosthetic arm Nature 15th May 2014 Vol.509 page 264