Syllabus:
GS3: Science and Technology- Developments and their Applications and Effects in Everyday Life.
Context:
Recently, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have developed a Brain Computer Interfaces that enabled a paralyzed man to control a robotic arm by imagining desired movements.
Developing stability in Brain-Computer Interfaces:
- The team studied how brain activity patterns change daily when imagining movement. By training AI to adapt to these shifts, the BCI remained stable over months.
- Sensors implanted on a paralysed participant’s brain recorded movement intent without sending signals back, allowing the system to interpret imagined actions reliably.
- After training with a virtual robotic arm, the participant was able to use a real robotic arm to do tasks like picking up blocks, opening a cabinet and holding a cup under a water dispenser.
- To examine changes in brain activity over time, a paralysed participant was asked to imagine moving different body parts. Though unable to move physically, his brain continued to generate movement-related signals, which were captured by implanted sensors through the BCI.
- The study participant had tiny sensors implanted on the surface of his brain that could pick up brain activity when he imagined moving.
- The sensors do not send pulses to the brain, but only read out the intent to move from the movement regions of the brain.
- The participant was asked to imagine simple hand movements while sensors recorded his brain activity to train the AI.
- Starting with a virtual robotic arm for feedback, he eventually gained control over a real robotic arm, performing tasks like picking up blocks and using a water dispenser.
Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI)
- Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are devices that create a direct communication pathway between a brain’s electrical activity and an external output.
- The sensors capture brain signals and transmit them to devices like computers or robotic limbs,
Working of the Brain-Computer Interfaces
- Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) mimic the brain’s neural activity, capturing the electrical signals that occur during thoughts or decisions at synapses between neurons.
- Electrodes are placed near these neural sites to detect voltage spikes, measuring their frequency and strength.
- The data is processed through software using neural decoding, where AI and machine learning translate brain signals into intended actions.
Applications of Brain-Computer Interfaces
- Robotic Limbs and Wheelchairs: By supplying a real-time neural feedback loop that rewires the brain, BCIs are capable of restoring movement, mobility and autonomy for paralyzed and disabled patients, heightening their quality of life.
- Role: It can treat neurological and psychiatric conditions by modulating brain activity.
- Spellers: Non-verbal individuals, who may be stuck in a locked-in state following a stroke or severe injury, can use eye movement for computer-augmented communication.
- Smartphone and Smart-Home Device Interface: In several studies, users have exercised control of social networking apps, email administration, virtual assistants and instant message services without physical motor skills.
- Drones: In January 2025, a study was published where a BCI system was used by a human patient with tetraplegia to control a virtual quadcopter.