BCI / Brain-Computer Interface Race
SEC FHT
Switzerland
About the Team
"We are excited to find out how much we can push our algorithms forward to make our pilot successful. Moreover, it’s a unique opportunity for us to work closely with a quadriplegic and achieve something beyond science." says Rea Lehner who manages Team SEC FHT. The acronym stands for the Singapore-ETH Centre and its new research program Future Health Technologies, which has been launched in March this year. The team, formed in January 2018, is a collaboration between School of Computer Science and Engineering at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and the Neural Control of Movement Lab at ETH Zurich.
"Our different backgrounds, enthusiasm for research and the need to train our brain and algorithms make us unique." says team manager Rea. The team uses a Brain-Computer-Interface (BCI) based on electroencephalography (EEG) from Brain Products. She points to where this could lead: “Although the engineering and neurosciences are far from ready, we are thinking about the vision of using BCI to give commands to non-invasive mobile technologies to operate aids such as smartphones or wheelchairs.
SEC FHT
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SEC FHT
SwitzerlandNanyang Technological University
Singapore
About the Pilot
"In 2016 I was a spectator at CYBATHLON, and now I have the chance to start as a pilot myself this year," Samuel Kunz says. Six years ago, the mechanical engineer had an accident and has been a quadriplegic since then.
He uses electroencephalography (EEG) in the BCI race and he trains once a week for about three hours. "The most difficult thing is to stay calm and not to get nervous. For everything to work out I mustn’t think about anything else but the race. One of my wishes is soon to be able to play a real game just with my thoughts," says Samuel and adds, "Currently, the system is not portable and user-friendly. The encoding of brain activity still has much room for improvement. Nevertheless, I see many great possibilities how the system could be integrated into everyday life, you could control almost all technical devices with BCI-technology."