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Brain-Computer Interfaces pp 105–119Cite as

Direct Neural Control of Anatomically Correct Robotic Hands

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Part of the book series: Human-Computer Interaction Series ((HCIS))

Abstract

This chapter presents a potential method of achieving dexterous control of a prosthetic hand using a brain-computer interface (BCI). Major control successes with invasive BCIs have been achieved by recording the activity of small populations of neurons in motor areas of the cortex. Even the activity of single neurons can be used to directly control computer cursors or muscle stimulators. The combination of this direct neural control with anthropomorphic hand prostheses has great promise for the restoration of dexterity. Based on users’ requirements for a functional hand prosthesis, a fully anthropomorphic robot hand is required. Recent work in our laboratories has developed two new technologies, the Neurochip and the Anatomically Correct Testbed (ACT) Hand. These technologies are described and some examples of their performance are given. We conclude by describing the advantages of merging these approaches, with the goal of achieving dexterous control of a prosthetic hand.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of Washington, Washington, USA

    Alik S. Widge

  2. Department of Physiology and Biophysics and Washington National Primate Research Center, University of Washington, Washington, USA

    Chet T. Moritz

  3. Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Washington, USA

    Yoky Matsuoka

Authors
  1. Alik S. Widge
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  2. Chet T. Moritz
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  3. Yoky Matsuoka
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alik S. Widge .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Researcher, Microsoft Research, One Microsoft Way,Redmond 11514 NE 1, Washington, 98052, Washington, USA

    Desney S. Tan

  2. Fac. Electrical Engineering,, Mathematics &Computer Science, University of Twente, Enschede, Netherlands

    Anton Nijholt

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© 2010 Springer-Verlag London Limited

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Widge, A.S., Moritz, C.T., Matsuoka, Y. (2010). Direct Neural Control of Anatomically Correct Robotic Hands. In: Tan, D., Nijholt, A. (eds) Brain-Computer Interfaces. Human-Computer Interaction Series. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84996-272-8_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84996-272-8_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-84996-271-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-84996-272-8

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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