{"id":25238,"date":"2018-05-14T22:09:59","date_gmt":"2018-05-14T22:09:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kurzweilai.net\/?p=315783"},"modified":"2018-05-16T23:32:37","modified_gmt":"2018-05-16T23:32:37","slug":"brain-computer-interface-training-helps-tetraplegics-win-avatar-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/2018\/05\/14\/brain-computer-interface-training-helps-tetraplegics-win-avatar-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Brain-computer-interface training helps tetraplegics win avatar race"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Pilot and avatar at Cybathlon (credit: Cybathlon)<\/p><\/div>\n

Noninvasive brain\u2013computer interface (BCI) systems can restore functions lost to disability — allowing for spontaneous, direct brain control of external devices without the risks associated with surgical implantation of neural interfaces. But as machine-learning algorithms have become faster and more powerful, researchers have mostly focused on increasing performance by optimizing pattern-recognition algorithms.<\/p>\n

But what about letting patients actively participate with AI in improving performance?<\/p>\n

To test that idea, researchers at the \u00c9cole Polytechnique F\u00e9d\u00e9rale de Lausanne (EPFL), based in Geneva, Switzerland, conducted research using \u201cmutual learning\u201d between computer and humans — two severely impaired (tetraplegic) participants with chronic spinal cord injury. The goal: win a live virtual racing game at an international event.<\/p>\n

Controlling a racing-game avatar using a BCI<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

A computer graphical user interface for the race track in Cybathlon 2016 \u201cBrain Runners\u201c game. \u201cPilots\u201d (participants) had to deliver (by thinking) the proper command in each color pad (cyan, magenta, yellow) to accelerate their own avatar in the race. (credit: Serafeim Perdikis and Robert Leeb)<\/p><\/div>\n

The participants were trained to improve control of an avatar (a person-substitute shown on a computer screen) in a virtual racing game. The experiment used a brain-computer interface (BCI), which uses electrodes on the head to pick up control signals from a person\u2019s brain.<\/p>\n

Each participant (called a \u201cpilot\u201d) controlled an on-screen avatar in a three-part race. This required mastery of separate commands for spinning, jumping, sliding, and walking without stumbling.<\/p>\n

After training for several months, in Oct. 8, 2016, the two pilots participated (on the \u201cBrain Tweakers\u201d team) in Cybathlon<\/a> in Zurich, Switzerland — the first international para-Olympics for disabled individuals in control of bionic assistive technology.*<\/p>\n

The BCI-based race consisted of four brain-controlled avatars competing in a virtual racing game called \u201cBrain Runners.\u201d To accelerate each pilot\u2019s avatar, they had to issue up to three mental commands (or intentional idling) on corresponding color-coded track segments.<\/p>\n

Maximizing BCI performance by <\/strong>humanizing mutual learning <\/strong><\/p>\n

The two participants in the EPFL research had the best three times overall in the competition<\/a>. One of those pilots won the gold medal and the other held the tournament record.<\/p>\n

The researchers believe that with the mutual-learning approach, they have \u201cmaximized the chances for human learning by infrequent recalibration of the computer, leaving time for the human to better learn how to control the sensorimotor rhythms that would most efficiently evoke the desired avatar movement. Our results showcase strong and continuous learning effects at all targeted levels — machine, subject, and application — with both [participants] over a longitudinal study lasting several months,\u201d the researchers conclude.<\/p>\n

Reference (open-source): PLoS Biology<\/a><\/em>\u00a0May 10, 2018<\/p>\n

* At Cybathlon, each team comprised a pilot together with scientists and technology providers of the functional and assistive devices used, which can be prototypes developed by research labs or companies, or commercially available products. That also makes Cybathlon a competition between companies and research laboratories. <\/em>The next Cybathlon will be held in Zurich in 2020.<\/em><\/p>\n

CYBATHLON by ETH Zurich<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Noninvasive brain–computer interface (BCI) systems can restore functions lost to disability — allowing for spontaneous, direct brain control of external devices without the risks associated with surgical implantation of neural interfaces. But as machine-learning algorithms have become faster and more powerful, researchers have mostly focused on increasing performance by optimizing pattern-recognition algorithms. But what about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":454,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46,49,43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-airobotics","category-cognitive-scienceneuroscience","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25238"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/454"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25238"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25238\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25239,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25238\/revisions\/25239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}