Robot arm moved by imagination... Research team quadriplegic successfully worked for 7 months
Mar 07, 2025
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A team led by Professor Carrerus Ganguly of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in the U.S. announced in the scientific journal Cell on the 7th that it succeeded in allowing quadriplegic patients to control their robotic arms simply by imagining them using artificial intelligence (AI)-based brain-computer interface (BCI) devices. The research team said that the BCI device developed this time operated for 7 months without any adjustment, unlike previous devices that only operated for 1 to 2 days.
The research team implanted small sensors on the brain surfaces of participants who were unable to speak or move and asked them to imagine moving various parts of the body, including hands, feet, and head, to see how brain signal patterns change over time when imagining movements. As a result, when the participants imagine moving, the brain generates a signal corresponding to the movement, and the AI-based BCI recorded the changes and locations of these signals captured by the sensor. In addition, it was analyzed that the signal from the brain remained the same when performing a specific motion, but its position changed little by little every day.
Based on this, the research team trained AI by recording brain activity with sensors, allowing participants to imagine simple movements that move specific body parts with fingers, hands, and thumbs for two weeks. The participants succeeded in operating the robot arm as they wanted through the training process. I could pick up the block, turn it, move it to another location, open the cabinet, take out the cup, and get water from the water purifier.
Professor Ganguly said "This technology, which allows quadriplegic people to eat or drink water on their own, will change their lives."
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
