Wristband Hand Gestures Interaction

Meta has developed a prototype wristband that uses electromyography to detect electrical signals from forearm muscles, enabling touch-free control of digital devices. These signals, generated by alpha motor neurons before physical movement occurs, allow the device to interpret user intent.

In particular, the device operates using surface electromyography, a non-invasive way to track the electrical activity of muscles. The wristband captures the signals externally and can move cursors, open apps, or even transcribe air-written text in real time.

More information:

https://mashable.com/article/meta-research-device-wrist-control

BCI Finger-Level Milestone

In a first-of-its-kind achievement for EEG-based BCI researchers employed a real-time, non-invasive robotic control system that utilized movement execution and motor imagery of individual finger movements to drive corresponding robotic finger motions. Just by thinking about it, human subjects were able to successfully perform two- and three-finger control tasks.

This was accomplished with the assistance of a novel deep-learning decoding strategy and a network fine-tuning mechanism for continuous decoding from non-invasive EEG signals. The goal moving forward is to build on this work to achieve more refined finger-level tasks, for instance, typing.

More information:

https://www.nanowerk.com/news2/robotics/newsid=67128.php

Speech Decoding Brain Region Can Support BCI Cursor Control

Researchers at the University of California found that the same part of the brain that supported BCI could also support computer cursor control for an individual with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). ALS is progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting the motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord.

Their clinical case study suggests that computer cursor control may not be as body-part-specific as scientists previously believed. If results are replicable, this could enable the creation of multi-modal BCIs that restore communication and movement to people with paralysis.

More information:

https://physicsworld.com/a/brain-region-used-for-speech-decoding-also-supports-bci-cursor-control/