Helicopter takes to the skies with the power of human thought

Helicopter takes to the skies with the power of human thought

June 5, 2013 — A remote controlled helicopter has been flown through a series of hoops around a college gymnasium in Minnesota.

It sounds like your everyday student project; however, there is one caveat -- the helicopter was controlled using just the power of thought.

The experiments have been performed by researchers hoping to develop future robots that can help restore the autonomy of paralysed victims or those suffering from neurodegenerative disorders.

There were five subjects (three female, two male) who took part in the study and each one was able to successfully control the four-blade helicopter, also known as a quadcopter, quickly and accurately for a sustained amount of time.

Lead author of the study Professor Bin He, from the University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering, said: "Our study shows that for the first time, humans are able to control the flight of flying robots using just their thoughts, sensed from noninvasive brain waves."

The noninvasive technique used was electroencephalography (EEG), which recorded the electrical activity of the subjects' brain through a cap fitted with 64 electrodes.

Facing away from the quadcopter, the subjects were asked to imagine using their right hand, left hand, and both hands together; this would instruct the quadcopter to turn right, left, lift, and then fall, respectively. The quadcopter was driven with a pre-set forward moving velocity and controlled through the sky with the subject's thoughts.

The subjects were positioned in front of a screen which relayed images of the quadcopter's flight through an on-board camera, allowing them to see which direction it was travelling in. Brain signals were recorded by the cap and sent to the quadcopter over WiFi.

"In previous work we showed that humans could control a virtual helicopter using just their thoughts. I initially intended to use a small helicopter for this real-life study; however, the quadcopter is more stable, smooth and has fewer safety concerns," continued Professor He.

After several different training sessions, the subjects were required to fly the quadcopter through two foam rings suspended from the gymnasium ceiling and were scored on three aspects: the number of times they sent the quadcopter through the rings; the number of times the quadcopter collided with the rings; and the number of times they went outside the experiment boundary.

A number of statistical tests were used to calculate how each subject performed.

A group of subjects also directed the quadcopter with a keyboard in a control experiment, allowing for a comparison between a standardised method and brain control.

This process is just one example of a brain-computer interface where a direct pathway between the brain and an external device is created to help assist, augment or repair human cognitive or sensory-motor functions; researchers are currently looking at ways to restore hearing, sight and movement using this approach.

"Our next goal is to control robotic arms using noninvasive brain wave signals, with the eventual goal of developing brain-computer interfaces that aid patients with disabilities or neurodegenerative disorders," continued Professor He.

Their study has been published today, 5 June 2013, in IOP Publishing's Journal of Neural Engineering and is accompanied by a video of the helicopter control in action which can be viewed here http://youtu.be/6LWz4qa2XQA.

Welcome to SUV System Ltd!

SUV System Ltd is ISO 90012008 Certified electronics distributor with 10 years of experiences.

We have built up long term business relationship with about many companies which are stockers and authorized agents. we have a steady and reliable supply to meet customer's demands to the greatest extent .Confidently, we are able to lower your cost and support your business with our years of professional service.

SUV System Ltd is Electronic Components Distributor Supplies,Find Quality Electronic Components Supplies Products IC(Integrated Circuits),Connectors,Capacitor,Resistors,Diodes,Transistors,LED at Suvsystem.com. Sourcing Other Energy, Environment, Excess Inventory Products from Manufacturers and Suppliers at Suvsystem.com

Electronic Components distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com

Connectors Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Connectors-1.html

IC Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/IC(Integrated-Circuits)-1.html

LED Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/LED-1.html

Capacitor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Capacitor-1.html

Transistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Transistors-1.html

Resistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Resistors-1.html

Diode Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Diodes-1.html

SUV System Ltd insists on the managing faith ofsincereness,speciality,foresight, win-win,so we build up stable-relationship customers located all over the world, including the States, Europe, Argentina, UAE, Malaysia, Australia,and India etc

we are focus on the following fields,and hope we can help you.

CR0603-FX-1301ELF CR0603-FX-1301E CR0603-FX-1300HLF CR0603-FX-1300ELF CR0603-FX-1300E CR0603-FX-12R7ELF CR0603-FX-12R1ELF CR0603-FX-12R1E CR0603-FX-12R0ELF CR0603-FX-12R0E CR0603-FX-1273ELF CR0603-FX-1273E CR0603-FX-1272ELF CR0603-FX-1272E CR0603-FX-1271ELF CR0603-FX-1271E CR0603-FX-1270ELF CR0603-FX-1270E CR0603-FX-1243ELF CR0603-FX-1243E CR0603-FX-1242ELF CR0603-FX-1242E CR0603-FX-1241ELF CR0603-FX-1241E CR0603-FX-1240ELF CR0603-FX-1240E CR0603-FX-1214ELF CR0603-FX-1214E CR0603-FX-1213ELF CR0603-FX-1213E CR0603-FX-1212ELF CR0603-FX-1212E CR0603-FX-1211ELF CR0603-FX-1211E CR0603-FX-1210ELF CR0603-FX-1210E CR0603-FX-1501E CR0603-FX-1500ELF CR0603-FX-1500E CR0603-FX-14R7ELF
http://www.suvsystem.com/a/2519.aspx