Lower-limb exoskeleton is controlled by looking at flashing lights
Just like DARPA and many other institutions, Korea University and TU Berlin researchers are working on an interface that gives users the power to control an exoskeleton with their minds. The system uses an electroencephalogram (EEG) cap to read signals from the user's brain, but it also needs visual cues to work. For their tests, specifically, the scientists installed a panel with five LED lights on their lower-limb exoskeleton. Those LEDs are arranged as a cross, and each one has a different meaning. For instance, if the left light blinks, it's a command to walk towards that direction. The user has to see that light flashing, so when the EEG cap reads his brain to know what he's looking at, the exoskeleton will actually move left. This video from Korean University shows the process in detail.
Like other scientists working on similar exoskeleton systems, one of the paper's authors, Klaus Muller, believes it could help people who can't move on their own someday. "People with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) [motor neuron disease], or high spinal cord injuries face difficulties communicating or using their limbs," he said. "Decoding what they intend from their brain signals could offer means to communicate and walk again."
