Ultra-small "Neuro Communicator" announced by AIST

The Japan National Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (AIST) announced the development of an ultra-small 'neuro communicator' that will facilitate practical brain-machine interface development for a number of different portable applications.

"The device combines an ultra-small mobile EEG, a fast and accurate decoding algorithm, and the integration of more efficient communication applications..." via moriyama.com

The current prototype utilizes a skull cap equipped with eight EEG sensors to monitor brain activity. The cap is directly connected to a small RF transmitter device approximately half the size of a cell phone. This eliminates the large cable bundles commonly used in laboratory brain research and totally frees user movement enabling tests to be run in new environments and even on the go. Power is supplied by small coin batteries installed in the device.

In addition to dramatic size reduction and mobility improvement, the project has reported major strides in the development of high speed decoding algorithms. After training, the system has been able to achieve consistent decoding within 2-3 seconds with a 90% or higher accuracy level. While that still isn't enough for real-time control, it does represent significant improvement and bodes well for the future.

The project has also developed an efficient brain driven communication menu system. It is hoped that this type of system will make easy for handicapped to communicate their needs and thoughts in a quick, accurate fashion driven purely by neural stimuli.

The initial system cost, including the required support equipment, is expected to be around 10 million yen with a commercial release target of 2012-13. This type of device will quickly trigger the development of numerous applications in health care, research, education, sports training, and even marketing.

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Posted by Lem on Mar 31, 2010 in Design | 0 comments