阅读理解
Since the 1970s, scientists have been
searching for ways to link the brain with computers. Brain-computer interface (BCI)
technology could help people with disabilities send commands to machines.
Recently, two researchers, Jose Millan and
Michele Tavella from the Federal Polytechnic School in Lausanne, Switzerland,
demonstrated(展示) a small robotic wheelchair directed
by a person's thoughts. In the
laboratory, Tavella operated the wheelchair just by thinking about moving his
left or right hand. He could even talk as he watched the vehicle and guided it
with his thoughts.
"Our brain has billions of nerve
cells~ These send signals through the spinal cord(脊髓) to the muscles to give us the ability to move. But spinal cord
injuries or other conditions can prevent these weak electrical signals from
reaching the muscles," Tavella says. "Our system allows disabled
people to communicate with external (外部的) world and
also to control devices."
The researchers designed a special cap for
the users. This head cover picks up the signals from the scalp(头皮) and sends them to a computer. The computer interprets (translate)
the signals and commands the motorized wheelchair. The wheelchair also has two
cameras that identify (find or discover) objects in its paths. They help the
computer react to commands from the brain.
Professor Millan, the team leader, says
scientists keep improving the computer software that interprets brain signals
and turns them into simple commands. "The practical possibilities that BCI
technology offers to disabled people can be grouped in two categories:
communication and controlling devices. One example is this wheelchair. "
He says his team has set two goals. One is
testing with real patients, so as to prove that this is a technology they can
benefit from. And the other is to guarantee that they can use the technology
over long periods of time.
