The monkey driving the wheelchair and the VR avatar by the power of thought is real
Welcome to the pages of the blog iCover ! A team of researchers from Duke University (Duke University), led by Miguel Nicolelis, successfully completed a series of experiments and the development of a new version of the BMI interface that allows the monkey to control a wheelchair using the power of thought.
The scientific world perfectly remembered 2011–2013, when in the course of research under primates, the world-famous scientist and philosopher Professor Miguel Nicolelis (Miguel Nicolelis) from Duke University, taught scientists to be active and respond to changes in the virtual environment. reality. After implanting special implants into the animal's brain, for the first time in the history of mankind, a functioning bi - directional brain-machine interface (BMBI) was obtained and two -way interaction between the primate brain and the virtual environment was realized. At the same time, the capabilities of the implemented technology allowed the monkey avatars not only to manage the virtual environment, but also to evaluate and respond to the information generated by it. At the level of experience with monkeys, the organization of the channel of such feedback allowed them to feel what the objects of the virtual world are to the touch.
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Purposeful training over time taught the monkeys to confidently manage their virtual avatar with the help of thoughts in the complete absence of any physical body movements. In the virtual space, the monkey avatar learned to sit on the floor, grope objects, select objects with a certain surface texture, which was set by a simple combination of electrical signals of a certain configuration, transmitted to the animal's brain.
The study of the ability of the brain to control computers through thought has recently been viewed by scientists as one of the priority and most promising areas. The results of multifaceted research at the interface of neurobiology, microelectronics and robotics formed the basis for the creation of various types of direct brain-computer interfaces (Brain-Machine Interface, BMI). It is they who, according to scientists, will make it possible to realize a man’s long-standing dream of effectively transmitting thoughts and managing non-living objects and information at a distance, using this ability in various fields: from medicine to comprehensive super-intensive learning processes. The possibility of such mental control is of particular importance for people with fully or partially limited motor abilities.
One of the already proven ways to organize a communication channel within the BMI interface is to tap into the possibilities of non-invasive electro-encephalophage technology ( EEG ). In this case, the exchange of useful information is carried out by means of special headgear, stuffed with electrical sensors and allowing to read the signals of the nervous activity of the brain in real time, decipher them and encode it in a clear machine, transfer it as a control command.
At the same time, such an approach as an EEG at this stage for a completely paralyzed person with a severe form of disability who cannot even blink, says Miguel Nicolelis, is associated with a number of technological limitations and can be considered today only as promising.
Taking into account the specific state of a paralyzed person, experts from Duke University, as in the case of experiments on primates described above, suggested considering the method of invasive correction as a much more effective alternative by introducing special intracranial implants that provide direct, directional and accurate reading of retransmitted signals .
The implant developed in the laboratory of Miguel Nicolasis is fundamentally different from all that was proposed earlier. Representing a peculiar matrix of electrodes, it consists of hundreds of microfilaments, less than a human hair thickness. The implantation process involves implant placement on the pre-motor and somatosensory areas of the brain, from which the necessary signals are subsequently taken. In this way, implants were implanted into the brains of two monkeys tested.
It should be noted that the first works in this direction were started back in 2012 and a group of scientists under the leadership of the same Professor Nicolis then managed to train the monkeys to ride to the bowl with food on a bicycle. Over the past time, not only the technology itself was being finalized. Significant changes were also made to software that allows transcoding brain signals into digital commands familiar to a computer in a wheelchair.
Interestingly, the same monkeys, who had already been trained in the mental control of the bike, had already resigned to the chair and adapted to the new situation. They had only to think about the bowl in front and the chair began its movement. Of course, the shortest route was not selected immediately - primates had to stroll along a slightly curved path for some time. But very soon after the start of a new series of experiments, the animals managed to optimize the route and reduce the time and distance on the way to the goal.
Analyzing the results accumulated as a result of the experiments, the scientists came to an amazing conclusion: the signals associated with estimating the distance to the food bowl at the beginning and end of the experiment were radically different. “This means,” Nicolelis said, “that the monkey’s brain assimilated the experience gained and made the necessary conclusions, which testifies to the flexibility of the brain and its ability to adapt to the surrounding changes within very wide limits and in a short time.”
To date, scientists have learned how to capture, process, and efficiently use signals sent by no more than 300 individual neurons. Initially, one implant is designed for safe and efficient reading of signals from 2 thousand neurons. Currently, the Miguel Nicholasis group is working to supplement the information vacuum through more efficient use of unused reserves. In turn, the increase in the number of neurons involved in the exchange of information will allow to drastically improve the accuracy of signal processing in the considered BMI control system.
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The scientific world perfectly remembered 2011–2013, when in the course of research under primates, the world-famous scientist and philosopher Professor Miguel Nicolelis (Miguel Nicolelis) from Duke University, taught scientists to be active and respond to changes in the virtual environment. reality. After implanting special implants into the animal's brain, for the first time in the history of mankind, a functioning bi - directional brain-machine interface (BMBI) was obtained and two -way interaction between the primate brain and the virtual environment was realized. At the same time, the capabilities of the implemented technology allowed the monkey avatars not only to manage the virtual environment, but also to evaluate and respond to the information generated by it. At the level of experience with monkeys, the organization of the channel of such feedback allowed them to feel what the objects of the virtual world are to the touch.
')
Purposeful training over time taught the monkeys to confidently manage their virtual avatar with the help of thoughts in the complete absence of any physical body movements. In the virtual space, the monkey avatar learned to sit on the floor, grope objects, select objects with a certain surface texture, which was set by a simple combination of electrical signals of a certain configuration, transmitted to the animal's brain.
The results of recent research by Dr. Nicolelis
The study of the ability of the brain to control computers through thought has recently been viewed by scientists as one of the priority and most promising areas. The results of multifaceted research at the interface of neurobiology, microelectronics and robotics formed the basis for the creation of various types of direct brain-computer interfaces (Brain-Machine Interface, BMI). It is they who, according to scientists, will make it possible to realize a man’s long-standing dream of effectively transmitting thoughts and managing non-living objects and information at a distance, using this ability in various fields: from medicine to comprehensive super-intensive learning processes. The possibility of such mental control is of particular importance for people with fully or partially limited motor abilities.
One of the already proven ways to organize a communication channel within the BMI interface is to tap into the possibilities of non-invasive electro-encephalophage technology ( EEG ). In this case, the exchange of useful information is carried out by means of special headgear, stuffed with electrical sensors and allowing to read the signals of the nervous activity of the brain in real time, decipher them and encode it in a clear machine, transfer it as a control command.
At the same time, such an approach as an EEG at this stage for a completely paralyzed person with a severe form of disability who cannot even blink, says Miguel Nicolelis, is associated with a number of technological limitations and can be considered today only as promising.
Taking into account the specific state of a paralyzed person, experts from Duke University, as in the case of experiments on primates described above, suggested considering the method of invasive correction as a much more effective alternative by introducing special intracranial implants that provide direct, directional and accurate reading of retransmitted signals .
The implant developed in the laboratory of Miguel Nicolasis is fundamentally different from all that was proposed earlier. Representing a peculiar matrix of electrodes, it consists of hundreds of microfilaments, less than a human hair thickness. The implantation process involves implant placement on the pre-motor and somatosensory areas of the brain, from which the necessary signals are subsequently taken. In this way, implants were implanted into the brains of two monkeys tested.
It should be noted that the first works in this direction were started back in 2012 and a group of scientists under the leadership of the same Professor Nicolis then managed to train the monkeys to ride to the bowl with food on a bicycle. Over the past time, not only the technology itself was being finalized. Significant changes were also made to software that allows transcoding brain signals into digital commands familiar to a computer in a wheelchair.
Interestingly, the same monkeys, who had already been trained in the mental control of the bike, had already resigned to the chair and adapted to the new situation. They had only to think about the bowl in front and the chair began its movement. Of course, the shortest route was not selected immediately - primates had to stroll along a slightly curved path for some time. But very soon after the start of a new series of experiments, the animals managed to optimize the route and reduce the time and distance on the way to the goal.
Analyzing the results accumulated as a result of the experiments, the scientists came to an amazing conclusion: the signals associated with estimating the distance to the food bowl at the beginning and end of the experiment were radically different. “This means,” Nicolelis said, “that the monkey’s brain assimilated the experience gained and made the necessary conclusions, which testifies to the flexibility of the brain and its ability to adapt to the surrounding changes within very wide limits and in a short time.”
To date, scientists have learned how to capture, process, and efficiently use signals sent by no more than 300 individual neurons. Initially, one implant is designed for safe and efficient reading of signals from 2 thousand neurons. Currently, the Miguel Nicholasis group is working to supplement the information vacuum through more efficient use of unused reserves. In turn, the increase in the number of neurons involved in the exchange of information will allow to drastically improve the accuracy of signal processing in the considered BMI control system.
More with display
Dear readers, we are always happy to meet and wait for you on the pages of our blog. We are ready to continue to share with you the latest news, review materials and other publications, and we will try to do everything possible so that the time spent with us will be useful for you. And, of course, do not forget to subscribe to our headings .
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Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/371953/
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