USF researchers really use their brains

TAMPA - Researchers at the University of South Florida are working to perfect a wheelchair with a robotic arm that is controlled by brain waves. The new device can help people with severe disabilities such as locked-in syndrome and Lou Gehrig's Disease better perform activities of daily living.

USF mechanical engineering senior John Capille is helping with the project. He says it's rewarding work that will impact people's lives.

The user of the wheelchair wears an electrocap fitted with electrodes that transmit P-300 brain waves to a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI).

The user concentrates on a letter on a computer screen. The brain waves generated by concentration on that particular letter causes the robotic arm to make corresponding movements.

In a laboratory demonstration, Capille used his brain waves to command the robotic arm to grasp and lift a plastic cup.

The BCI was developed by USF psychology professor Emanuel Donchin and his colleagues. Now, USF's Department of Mechanical Engineering's Center for Rehabilitation Engineering and Technology is working to perfect the robotic arm.

"This way we can have a person with total disability do activities of everyday living without assistance," said Dr. Redwan Alqasemi, lead researcher of the Center for Rehabilitative Robotics.

Researchers believe their device could be widely available to help people with severe paralysis within the next several years.