INTRODUCTION TO ROBOTICS AND THE MIND-MACHINE INTERFACE

Shaun McGorryExecutive BriefingJuly 16, 2009

Introduction: Robotics

Robots are becoming increasingly present in our daily lives

Robot: a virtual or mechanical artificial agent; usually an electro-mechanical system which, by its appearance or movements, conveys a sense that it has intent or agency of its own

Robotics: coined by Isaac Asimov; the science and technology of robots, and their design, manufacture, and application

Introduction: Mind-Machine Interface Brain-computer interface (BCI):

sometimes called a direct neural interface or a mind-machine interface, is a direct communication pathway between a brain and an external device

Aimed at assisting, augmenting, or repairing human cognitive or sensory-motor functions

Following discussion: short overview of the history of robotics, details possible applications of this technology, and explores the different research that is taking place involving the mind-machine interface

History of Robotics

Autonomous machines only appeared in the 20th century

Unimate : 1st digitally operated and programmable robot; installed in 1961 to lift hot pieces of metal from a die casting machine and stack them

Research on mind-machine interfaces (BCIs) began in the 1970s at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) under a grant from the National Science Foundation followed by a contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)

The field has since blossomed spectacularly, mostly toward neuroprosthetics applications that aim at restoring damaged hearing, sight and movement

History of Robotics

Applications

Civilian Applications Military Applications

search and rescue exploration construction and

repair projects in environments ranging from under water to outer space

fighting forest fires hazardous waste

clean-up

unmanned sea, air and ground weapons platforms that mirror the controller’s intent without the need for brain wave sensors or nerve connections

fighter jet cockpit controls that mirror the pilot’s intent without the need for brain sensors or nerve connections

AttacArmor (All Terrain Tactical Armor)

Applications

Both Civilian and Military

high-speed telecommunications systems and remote switching devices that cannot be jammed, intercepted, or limited by time or distance

biometrics to locate and identify individuals

encryption based on mental intention and unique patterns of influence

Company Research

Interchange Laboratories

California Corporation whose purpose is to develop and continually improve a non-invasive, non-contact mind-machine interface technology as well as related control and training methods

Mind-Machine Interface System effectively mirrors a person's intent with no connections to the body, or physiological sensors

Time and distance are no barriers and unlike radio waves, human mental influence of the MMIP cannot be intercepted or jammed

Early stages of development; now at the stage where it is powerful enough to drive a video game application over the internet

Honda

Honda Research Institute, Japan, has demonstrated a Brain-Machine Interface (BMI) that enables a user to control an ASIMO robot using nothing more than thought

Wearing a headset the user simply imagines moving either his right hand, left hand, tongue or feet - and ASIMO makes a corresponding movement

System is still huge and slow, and the commands are quite crude and imprecise

The next step is to refine the system to work with fine motor controls, add the ability to decode non-motor brain signals and speed it all up

Honda

Toyota

Researchers at Toyota have unveiled an advanced brain sensing system that controls the movement of a wheelchair by reading a user's thoughts alone

By processing patterns in brain waves, the system can propel a wheelchair forward, as well as make turns, with virtually no discernable delay between thought and movement

An accuracy rate of 95% was achieved

Summary

The Force, it appears, may be with us sooner than expected

Non-invasive, safe technology must become more refined and precise

Once this happens, imagination is the only limit

But if the recent run of mind-bending success in this field is any indication, the big breaks can come faster than expected

Link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-fE9QBy0FI