Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter


3

Toyota Rolls Out Mind-Controlled Wheelchair

Chair can translate thoughts into commands within milliseconds

Share

(Newser) – Toyota has unveiled research on a mind-controlled wheelchair that can read its user's thoughts much faster and more accurately than any previous efforts, the Christian Science Monitor reports. The chair's interface reads brainwave activity and responds to imagined hand and foot movements within 125 milliseconds with up to 95% accuracy, according to Toyota. Earlier attempts experienced lags of several seconds.

The chair's system includes a neuro-feeback loop that can tailor its responses to a user's tendencies after training. The chair includes a safety feature allowing users to bring it to an instant stop by puffing out one cheek. Toyota plans to market the chair commercially, although the company says extensive research and development remains to be done.

A researcher wearing a cap that can read brain signals, operates a wheelchair that can be steered by detecting the user's brain waves.
A researcher wearing a cap that can read brain signals, operates a wheelchair that can be steered by detecting the user's brain waves.   (AP Photo/Riken)
A researcher shows a cap that can read brain signals as he demonstrates a wheelchair that can be steered by detecting the user's brain waves.
A researcher shows a cap that can read brain signals as he demonstrates a wheelchair that can be steered by detecting the user's brain waves.   (AP Photo/Riken)
A researcher wearing a cap that can read brain signals rides on a wheelchair that can be steered by detecting brain waves at Japan's Riken Brain Science Institute.
A researcher wearing a cap that can read brain signals rides on a wheelchair that can be steered by detecting brain waves at Japan's Riken Brain Science Institute.   (AP Photo/Riken)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
A look a the brain-controlled wheelchair under development at Toyota.   (networkworld)

View larger videos >>
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next »
OFF THE GRID
11.6.09
Galleon Scandal: Shocked, Shocked by Insider Trading
11.5.09
Rupert Murdoch Is Mad but Cute
3 comments
VIEWING:
 
Reader78245944
Jun 30, 09 4:26 AM CDT
wonderfull thinking and it will be a fantastic tool for the disabled..on the other hand this is also a beginning of mind controlled army's. So we leave the slaughter up to the robots. Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
-2
nathanielfoster
Jun 30, 09 8:27 AM CDT
Very cool guys. Way to go! Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
+3
Derni
Jun 30, 09 8:45 AM CDT
Now some R & D that makes a difference! Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
0
LEAVE A
COMMENT Comment Policy
Facebook ConnectPost this comment to Facebook?

After connecting you will have the option to post your comment on your Facebook profile.

 

Related Newser Stories

124 Stories

RUNAWAY CARS

Feds: Toyota Statement on Accidents 'Misleading'

Matter isn't closed,
says NHTSA

Nov 5, 09 2:21 PM CST
(Newser) - Federal safety officials have criticized Toyota for trying to play down mechanical concerns over their "runaway cars.” Though victims and media reports have suggested that computer malfunctions or pedal design flaws are to blame in several incidents in which cars uncontrollably accelerated, Toyota says oversize floor mats are... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Toyota • recall • NHTSA • cars

'Runaway Car' Owners Don't Believe Toyota's Explanation

They fault electronics, not recalled floor mats

Nov 3, 09 12:00 PM CST
(Newser) - Many Toyota owners don’t buy the company’s claim that floor mats are behind an accelerator malfunction, ABC reports. Toyota has ordered a 3.8 million-car recall for a problem that has vehicles suddenly and uncontrollably accelerating to high speeds, offering the explanation that an oversize floor mat pins... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Toyota • recall • product recall • computer error • floor mat

pop science

 In Eco-Terms, 
 Dog = Hummer 


Nov 2, 09 5:50 PM CST
(Newser) - A dog has about the same impact on the planet as an SUV, according to a study out of New Zealand. The authors of Time to Eat the Dog? The Real Guide to Sustainable Living claim the environmental footprint of a Toyota Land Cruiser is smaller than the ecological impact... More »

MORE ABOUT:
environment • Toyota • ecology • SUV • Volkswagen • dog • cat • Hummer

 Nissan Leaf Wins Name Game 

Not dirty, sexy, or violent, brand is 'a minor miracle'

Oct 30, 09 5:40 PM CDT
(Newser) - Nissan already had its work cut out in designing a hybrid—whatever it made had to measure up to Toyota’s hugely successful Prius. Then it needed a name, which came at the end of a process blending business, culture, and the law. Possibilities must be cleared in hundreds of... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Japan • Toyota • Nissan • Mazda • Toyota Prius • Prius • auto industry • hybrid car • vehicle • automobile • auto imports • Leaf • Nissan Leaf • Daihatsu

ANALYSIS

 Saturn: GM's Biggest Mistake  

Brand was an unsustainable distraction from the start

Oct 2, 09 5:39 PM CDT
(Newser) - As General Motors’ Saturn experiment ends with a whimper, it’s important to understand that the brand was a failure from the start. Some obituaries blame GM for not providing a fuller roster of vehicles to build customer loyalty—but if anything, the automaker gave Saturn too much, writes Mark... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Toyota • General Motors • Detroit • Saturn • Hyundai • auto industry • Big Three

124 Stories


Technology  •  Business  •  Science & Health 
TwitterFollow @NewserTech on Twitter

 
Toyota • mind • wheelchair • brain waves

from our news partners