Honda Develops Technology to Use Brain Signals to Control Robots

Honda Motor Co. has been working with ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories to develop a revolutionary technology that is sure to cause a whirlwind of excitement throughout the world. The technology, announced Wednesday by the automaker, uses brain signals to control the simple movements of a robot. The company says that in the future, the technology can be used to replace cell phones, keyboards, and other manual devices. It could also be used in applications to help people with spinal cord injuries.

A video demonstration was shown to reporters in Tokyo showing Honda’s new robotic technology. A person was placed into a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner, which recorded the brain signals emanating from the person. He first made a fist, then spread his fingers, and then made a V-sign with his fingers. A few seconds later, those movements were mimicked by a robotic hand linked to the brain signals coming from the MRI machine.

Honda calls the technology "brain-machine interface," and the company says it is an improved version of previous attempts, which required surgery to connect wires. Other methods attempted involved training people in ways to send brain signals. With some trials, the robotic machines had trouble reading the signals.

This latest research was initially begun for developing intelligence for Honda’s walking robot Asimo. Currently Asimo, about 50 inches tall, can walk, talk, and dance, but it cannot make a V-sign with its hand. But Tomohiko Kawanabe, president of Honda Research Institute Japan Co., ways that the new technology will be applicable to future auto technology, such as implementing new methods of safety measures.

According to ATR researcher Yukiyasu Kamitani, further research is needed to decode more complex movements from brain signals, and the machine would have to be made smaller and lighter. Kamitani envisions the final product being similar to a cap that people can wear on their heads as they move around, perhaps even transmitting signals wirelessly. Honda hopes that some day a person’s thoughts can be linked with machines in everyday life.