Honda Says Brain Waves Control Robot
By YURI KAGEYAMA
AP Business Writer
AP Photo/KATSUMI KASAHARA
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TOKYO (AP) -- In a step toward linking a person's thoughts to
machines, Japanese automaker Honda said it has developed a
technology that uses brain signals to control a robot's very simple
moves.
In the future, the technology that Honda Motor Co. developed with
ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories could be used to
replace keyboards or cell phones, researchers said Wednesday. It
also could have applications in helping people with spinal cord
injuries, they said.
In a video demonstration in Tokyo, brain signals detected by a
magnetic resonance imaging scanner were relayed to a robotic hand.
A person in the MRI machine made a fist, spread his fingers and
then made a V-sign. Several seconds later, a robotic hand mimicked
the movements.
Further research would be needed to decode more complex
movements.
The machine for reading the brain patterns also would have to
become smaller and lighter - like a cap that people can wear as
they move about, said ATR researcher Yukiyasu Kamitani.
What Honda calls a "brain-machine interface" is an improvement over
past approaches, such as those that required surgery to connect
wires. Other methods still had to train people in ways to send
brain signals or weren't very accurate in reading the signals,
Kamitani said.
Honda officials said the latest research was important not only for
developing intelligence for the company's walking bubble-headed
robot, Asimo, but also for future auto technology.
"There is a lot of potential for application to autos such as
safety measures," said Tomohiko Kawanabe, president of Honda
Research Institute Japan Co.
Asimo, about 50 inches tall, can talk, walk and dance. It's
available only for rental but is important for Honda's image and
has appeared at events and TV ads.
At least another five years are probably needed before Asimo starts
moving according to its owner's mental orders, according to
Honda.