On Mon, 10 Oct 2005 18:37:45 +1300, Sir Gilligan Horry <GM@ga7rm5er.com>
wrote:

oi oi that University won the $3,000,000.00

>from DARPA for the robot vehicle run.

DARPA To Support Development Of Human Brain-Machine Interfaces 
Source: Duke University (http://www.duke.edu) 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/08/020820071329.htm 



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DURHAM, N.C. -- Devices including "neuroprosthetic" limbs for paralyzed
people and "neurorobots" controlled by brain signals from human operators
could be the ultimate applications of brain-machine interface technologies
developed under a $26 million contract to Duke University sponsored by the
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The contract is part of
DARPA's Brain-Machine Interfaces Program
(http://www.darpa.mil/dso/thrust/sp/bmi.htm), which seeks to develop new
technologies for augmenting human performance by accessing the brain in real
time and integrating the information into external devices. 
Principal investigator for the DARPA project will be Professor of
Neurobiology Miguel Nicolelis (www.nicolelislab.net). Co-PIs are Craig
Henriquez, who is the W.H. Gardner Jr. Associate Professor of Biomedical
Engineering; Professor of Neurosurgery Dennis Turner and Associate Professor
of Biomedical Engineering Patrick Wolf. Other center collaborators include
John Chapin of the State University of New York, Brooklyn, Jose Principe of
the University of Florida, Mandayam Srinivasan of Massachusetts Institute of
Technology and Harvey Wiggins of Plexon Inc. in Dallas. 

The DARPA support will help launch Duke's Center for Neuroengineering,
co-directed by Nicolelis and Henriquez, whose scientists and engineers will
seek to pioneer a new technological era in which brain signals could control
machines that augment and extend human capabilities in a way never before
possible. 

Besides development of brain-controlled prosthetic limbs, neurosurgeons
could apply brain-mapping enabled by the new technologies to aid surgeons in
distinguishing healthy brain tissue from that which is part of a tumor or a
focus for epileptic seizures. 

"This technology can immediately increase the resolution with which surgeons
can map the extent of a tumor or a specific brain region," said Nicolelis.
"Such improved mapping can translate into a better prognosis for the
patient, since less tissue might have to be removed." 

Beyond medical uses, brain-machine interfaces also could be applied to
enhance the abilities of normal humans, said the researchers. As examples,
they said, neurally controlled robots could enable remote search-and-rescue
operations or exploration of hazardous or inaccessible environments. 

The Duke center will consist initially of a collaboration of separate
laboratories in the medical center's department of neurobiology and in the
Pratt School of Engineering department of biomedical engineering. However,
the researchers expect to unite the center's efforts in a new
multidisciplinary engineering building now under construction. 

As part of the DARPA support: 

* Biomedical engineer Henriquez and his colleagues will coordinate
development of equipment and methods for visualizing and analyzing the
massive amounts of data produced from electrode arrays in the brains of
experimental animals. 

* Neurosurgeon Turner and his colleagues will investigate potential use of
brain-machine interfaces in patients with neurological disorders. 

* Biomedical engineer Patrick Wolf and his colleagues will develop a
miniaturized "neurochip" for detecting and analyzing brain signals, as well
as optical communications links between the chip and the control components
of the interface. 

* John Chapin's laboratory will develop the sensory feedback mechanism by
which animals and humans can "feel" the actions of a neurorobotic arm or
hand. 

* Jose Principe and his colleagues will develop new computer algorithms for
translating brain-derived signals into control commands to operate a robot
arm. 

* Mandayam Srinivasan's laboratory will develop new interfaces to provide
visual and tactile feedback signals to animal subjects operating robot arms,
and 

* Harvey Wiggins of Plexon Inc. in Dallas will supply hardware and software
that will enable development and testing of brain-machine interfaces. 

According to Nicolelis, the initial concentration of the new center will be
on neuroprosthetic arms for paralyzed people, based on the success of
initial experiments with animals. "Last year, we reported experiments in
primates showing that a brain-machine interface could, indeed, control a
robot arm," said Nicolelis. "While this was a first-generation system, it
proved to us that there was an enormous opportunity to pursue research
leading to clinical applications. We are extremely grateful to DARPA for
their vision in establishing a program that will provide the crucial support
to launch this effort." 

In 2000, Nicolelis and his colleagues tested a neural system on monkeys that
enabled the animals to use their brain signals, as detected by implanted
electrodes, to control a robot arm to reach for a piece of food. The
scientists even transmitted the brain signals over the Internet, remotely
controlling a robot arm 600 miles away. The technique they used, called
"multi-neuron population recordings" was originally developed by center
collaborator Chapin. 

In the experiments, the scientists used arrays of up to 96 electrodes to
sense signals from multiple areas of the brain, including the motor cortex
from which movement is controlled. The scientists then recorded the output
of these electrodes as the animals learned "reaching tasks," including
reaching for small pieces of food. 

The scientists fed the mass of neural signal data generated during many
repetitions of these tasks into a computer, which analyzed the brain signals
to detect tell-tale patterns that would enable researchers to predict the
trajectory of the monkey's hand from the signals. 

Then, by programming the computer connected to the robotic arm to sense
these signal patterns emanating from the monkey's brain, the scientists
could enable the monkey to, in effect, control the arm only via neural
signals. 

This proof-of-concept experiment showed the effectiveness of recording from
multiple areas of the brain and then allowing the computer to "learn" brain
signal patterns that triggered certain movements. 

In the new center, Nicolelis, Henriquez and their colleagues will aim to
increase the number of recording electrodes to more than 1,000 to enable
control of more complex actions by robotic arms and other devices. The
"neurochip" being developed by Wolf and his colleagues will greatly reduce
the size of the circuitry required for sampling and analysis of brain
signals. 

"Our dream is to develop a palmtop-like device that routes the signals
either to robotic devices, computers, or even to the physician, to alert the
physician to some problem," said Nicolelis. According to Henriquez, the
greater number of recording electrodes will also enable far more
sophisticated analysis of brain signals. 

"This research involves a major effort to decode how the brain manages
information," said Henriquez. "Once we are able to use computation to decode
such information, we can translate that understanding into an algorithm that
can be incorporated into hardware." Ultimately, the researchers hope to be
able to record and analyze such signals for long periods of time without
damage to brain tissue, said the researchers. They have already shown that
animals can tolerate the electrodes for periods of years without apparent
harm. 

According to Nicolelis, the technology and computational methods developed
under the DARPA support also will lead to a deeper understanding of the
brain itself. 

"This research will provide us with a powerful new set of experimental tools
and techniques to answer the question of how millions of brain cells come
together to generate a particular behavior," he said. "Traditionally, the
neurosciences have taken a reductionist approach, with investigators trying
to understand individual neurons, molecules and genes. We are trying to
understand the brain's function as a dynamic system." 

Nicolelis, Henriquez and their colleagues are among researchers developing a
theory that neurons are not hard-wired circuit elements permanently assigned
to one computing task, like the microprocessor inside a computer. Rather,
the new theory holds that neurons are adaptable, living entities that can
participate in many processing tasks at once. Moreover, the theory holds
that those tasks may change from millisecond to millisecond. For example,
Nicolelis' experiments have revealed that the brain signals producing a
single event, such as a monkey reaching out, are mirrored in many places in
the same brain region -- as if the neurons "vote" on such actions. 

In their current experiments, the center's scientists and engineers are
developing "closed-loop" systems, in which movement of the robot arm
generates tactile feedback signals in the form of pressure on the animals'
skin. Also, they are providing visual feedback by allowing the animal to
watch the movement of the arm. 

Such feedback studies could also potentially improve the ability of
paralyzed people to use such a brain-machine interface to control prosthetic
appendages, said Nicolelis. In fact, he said, the brain could prove
extraordinarily adept at using feedback to adapt to such an artificial
appendage. 

"One provocative, and controversial, question is whether the brain can
actually incorporate a machine as part of the neural representation of the
body," he said. "I truly believe that it is possible. The brain is
continuously learning and adapting, and previous studies have shown that the
body representation in the brain is dynamic. So, if you created a closed
feedback loop in which the brain controls a device and the device provides
feedback to the brain, I would predict that as people or animals learn to
use the device, their brains will basically dedicate neuronal space to
represent that device." 

Development of the Duke center's brain-interface technologies also will
involve collaborations with industry, said the researchers. The market for
such devices should be considerable, they said. According to a market
analysis commissioned by DARPA, the current worldwide market of about $270
million annually is projected to be $1.5 billion by 2005. 

"In our discussion with corporations, we've found that, even though these
technologies are in their infancy, the companies are emphasizing their
commercial development," said Henriquez. "We believe that the Duke center
will help propel development of the next generation of brain interface
technologies. And the opportunities for their application seem almost
boundless." 

DARPA (www.darpa.mil) is the central research and development organization
for the Department of Defense. It manages and directs selected basic and
applied research and development projects for DoD, and pursues research and
technology where risk and payoff are both very high and where success may
provide dramatic advances for traditional military roles and missions. 

The DARPA sponsored contract is being managed by the Space and Naval Warfare
Systems Center in San Diego (http://enterprise.spawar.navy.mil). 

Other useful links: 

Center for Neuroengineering --
http://bmewww.mc.duke.edu/Research/Elecphys/Neuroeng/Neuro.htm 

Miguel Nicolelis bio -- http://www.neuro.duke.edu/Faculty/Nicolelis.htm 

Craig Henriquez bio --
http://bme-www.egr.duke.edu/fandr_indivprofiles.php?id=5 

Editor's Note: The original news release can be found at
http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/research/darpacontract5.html 


Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Duke
University for journalists and other members of the public. If you wish to
quote from any part of this story, please credit Duke University as the
original source. You may also wish to include the following link in any
citation:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/08/020820071329.htm


In relation to this see: 
August 9, 2001 Government will promote IT in Azad Jammu and Kashmir 
September 12, 2001 China Will Help Pakistan In Setting Up of Technology
Incubators 
October 3, 2001Atta Holds Meeting With Microsoft 
October 23, 2001 Islamabad the Federal Minister for Science & Technology
Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman who is visiting Paris held a meeting today with Mr.
Jawwad Rahman, Regional Head of Microsoft. 
January 14, 2002 Pak-China Fund to be utilized for joint research 
February 26, 2002 Pakistan and China to collaborate in IT, biotechnology 
March 2, 2002 Pakistan and China to intensify cooperation in biotechnology 

ARTICLES AT PSY-OP ON DARPA 
ARTICLES ON PSY-OP ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE 

http://www.mindcontrolforums.com/darpa.htm