Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1225830
26.03.2020 TRENDSETTING University of Malta engineers building brain-controlled devices THE latest project focused on brain-controlled human-ma- chine interfaces at the Universi- ty of Malta is the development of a motorised bed that allows a person with restricted mobil- ity to control it directly through brain signals. e project, called BrainApp, is financed through the FUSION fund of the Malta Council for Science & Technol- ogy. e research team made up of Dr Tracey Camilleri, Prof. Ken- neth Camilleri, Dr Owen Falzon and Ing. Rosanne Zerafa, mem- bers of the Department of Sys- tems and Control Engineering and the Centre for Biomedical Cybernetics at the University of Malta, has teamed up with Mal- tese industrial partner 88.eu to integrate algorithms, program- ming and hardware into a com- plete system. Motorised beds are typically controlled through a remote control, allowing the users to change the inclination of the back rest, foot rest and other sections of the bed as required. However, if a person has some impairment, such as due to a stroke or locked-in condition, using this remote would be im- possible and these individuals have to constantly rely on the support of their carers. e brain-controlled mo- torised bed has replaced this remote control with icons dis- played on a tablet and an EEG headset that measures the brain activity non-invasively from the scalp of the user. e user at- tends to one of the icons and the system will automatically detect the icon being chosen to gener- ate the associated bed function. All this without the click of a button. e BrainApp team believes that brain control could be- come the new communication channel of the future. "Our ex- perience and growing interest in brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) provide an opportuni- ty to innovate and break new ground. BCIs are expected to become a ubiquitous alternative means of communication and control not only for individuals with limited motor capabilities but also for healthy individuals." And they are not alone in thinking so; just last year, the US agency responsible for the development of military emerg- ing technologies, DARPA, has funded an ambitious brain machine interface program intended to develop weara- ble devices to allow soldiers to communicate directly with ma- chines. Facebook is also pres- ently working on a non-invasive EEG headset for text generation from brain activity. e question remains as to whether this technology has ad- vanced well enough to make it practical for everyday use. Iden- tification of the icons desired by the user can be achieved at over 90% accuracy. Several companies are devel- oping EEG headsets that offer good and reliable brain signal quality and are claimed to be comfortable enough to be used for long hours. Combining this, with the growing interest of using brain signals as a means of control for digital games, has created a commercial drive to reduce the cost of these devices. ese driving forces offer a promise that BCIs may soon be available for daily use. SCOOTER 001 SHARING THE PRESENT, SO WE CAN BUILD A BETTER FUTURE. ONE APP. OVER 450 SHARED VEHICLES. Join the shared mobility revolution with GoTo starting at €0.16* per minute. goto.com.mt/download * Rate per minute for Scooter trips on the GoTo Business Plan. Terms and Conditions apply.