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A Wheelchair Powered By the Mind

by Terrence O'Brien on September 10, 2007 at 04:26 PM


(Note: The above video is a bit slow to load ... )

Michael Callahan and Thomas Coleman want to put the minds of the handicapped to work. The founders of the Champaign, Illinois-based firm Ambient have invented a wheelchair powered by the mind -- and, fortunately, you don't need Uri Geller-grade brain muscles to get the wheels spinning.

The Audeo motorized wheelchair works by having the occupant mentally choose word commands for moving forward, back, left and right. When a human being thinks of a word, the brain shoots a signal to the larynx in order to produce speech. The Audeo intercepts these neural signals and translates them into commands for the chair. Unlike the wheelchairs of today, the Audeo will allow a person who is completely physically incapacitated to move themselves around unassisted. And, movement may just be the beginning as this technology could someday allow us humans -- handicapped or not -- to control all sorts of devices with our minds. The only prerequisite would be the ability to think. Sorry, Britney.

From Uber Gizmo

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Tags: ambient, audeo, control, handicapped, neurological, science, thought, wheelchair

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