Scientists from Ulster University and the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur hope to develop a wheelchair and robotic arm that can be controlled solely by the power of thought. 'We are looking at helping people with severe movement disabilities such as motor neurone disease and spinal cord injuries,' said Dr Girijesh Prasad, a senior lecturer at Ulster's school of computing and intelligent systems. 'They would not be able to make any movement through the neuro-muscular medium, so first of all, we are looking at a brain computer interface (BCI) where the brainwaves would be used, often through EEG (electroencephalogra-phy) for creating an interface to command both the wheelchair and a robotic arm. 'First, we can provide the mobility through a wheelchair that has robust, inbuilt obstacle avoidance capabilities. Second, if we can provide disabled people with some sort of robotic arm, they can also attempt to do activities of daily living on their own as far as possible.' As part of their investigations, the scientists will concentrate mainly on developing the com-mand-and-control aspect of the intelligent wheelchair, using an off-the-shelf model donated by Invacare UK, a wheelchair manufacturer based in Bridgend, Wales.
展开▼
