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Galicia Garcia David
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Brains structureIntroduction
Brain Machine Interface (BMI) technology provides a direct
electronic interface and can convey
messages and commands directly from the human brain to a
computer. BMI technology involves
monitoring conscious brain electrical activity via
electroencephalogram signals and detecting
characteristics of electroencephalogram patterns via digital
signal processing algorithms that the
user generates to communicate. It has the potential to enable
the physically disabled to perform
many activities, thus improving their quality of life and
productivity, allowing them more
independence and reducing social costs. The challenge with BMI,
however, is to extract the
relevant patterns from the electroencephalogram signals produced
by the brain each second.
Recently, there has been a great progress in the development of
novel paradigms for
electroencephalogram signal recording, advanced methods for
processing them, new applications
for BMI systems and complete software and hardware packages used
for BMI applications.
One of the most convenient characteristic of this technology is
that human- computer interfaces
can use different signals from the body to control the devices.
For example: the muscle activity, eye
movements, and respiration. This is very important for people
with physical disabilities.
1) Implementation of a new technology using theBMI
Until now, the most remarkable develop using the BMI, is
in the medical field. This is because the field of BMI
research and development has focused primarily onapplications
that aim at restoring damaged hearing,
repairing damaged sight and providing new functionality
for people with paralysis. There are other applications in
the videogames field, where we can control the moves of
our videogame character.
My idea is to implement the BMI in the automotive field. About
20 years ago, the electronic
devices have a lot and significant changes; and more recently,
the scientists also started to use the
technology advances to improve the cars, as one example we have
the hybrid cars. Now, I think
about combine the use of BMI, with ecological cars, to create a
car that have a good impact with
the environment, and also, easy to drive with for persons with
a
physical disabilities.
In the beginning, this idea has as objective to help persons
with
a physical disability, but in the future, also can be use
for
everyone, not necessary only persons with disabilities. The
idea
is to make everyone able to drive, only using the brain. To
send
the brains information to control the cars movements is
necessary to use an electrode cap, as the figure shows. The
Figure 1. Prototype of a hybrid car
using BMI
Figure 2. Electrode cap
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Galicia Garcia David
12324190
showed electrode caps are the real caps used in medical
treatments. Is necessary to make
adaptations to use it for the new propose.
Others applications of the BMI is to help paralyzed people to
control them limbs; others helps blindperson to transmit visual
images to the mind; others transmit auditory data to the mind of a
deaf
person; and this idea, wants to help persons with problems in
the lower extremities.
2) What problems should be solved about the BMI?There are plenty
problems related to the use of the BMI. The principal problem, I
think, is that the
research is still in beginning stages; there is necessary to fix
and improve a lot of things to have an
efficient technology. As many other technologies, in the
beginning, there are details omitted, that
obstacles the correct performance of the technology. Right now,
is the beginning of BMI, so is the
period when the scientists have to find those omitted details
and try to fix it, looking for the
improvement of BMI.
The other big problem is about the ethical issues. There are
some persons against the idea of use
technology to improve the physical body; this idea is common in
people of ancient times. Here is
when we find the term of human enhancement. Human enhancement
refers to any attempt to
temporarily or permanently overcome the current limitations of
the human body through natural or
artificial means. But human enhancement is increasingly becoming
synonymous with
transhumanism, a controversial ideology and movement which has
emerged to support the
recognition and protection of the right of citizens to either
maintain or modify their own minds and
bodies; so as to guarantee them the freedom of choice and
informed consent of using human
enhancement technologies on themselves and their children. Many
critics argue that "human
enhancement" is a loaded term which has eugenic overtones
because it may imply the
improvement of human hereditary traits to attain a universally
accepted norm of biological fitness,and therefore can evoke
negative reactions far beyond the specific meaning of the term.
There are many others problems using the BMI, like there is a
need of extensive training before
user cause techniques like electroencephalogram. As result, this
method isnt fast, requires time to
use it in a proper way. Then the BMI techniques still require
much enhancement before they can be
used by users as they are slow. Also BMI techniques are costly;
it requires lot of money to set up
BMI environment. This is other big problem, because not
everybody can have accesses to the BMI,
only the persons with a very good wage can use it. I think this
problem will persist in the following
years, because this is a specific technology, it means that
there arent massive productions of this
machines, there are only a few. Therefore, is too difficult to
reduce the price.
As in all the new technologies, there are people who agree and
disagree with it. I think that all the
things created by humans have imperfections, so we have to learn
how to endure those
imperfections, and obtain the greatest benefit of the new
technologies.
