All in the mind

researchers are developing a system that could give people completefreedom to move a cursor around a screen using thought alone.

The research takes a novel approach to brain computer interfaces (BCI) that gives a person's electroencephalograms (EEGs) complete control of a computer.

By the end of the project the team, headed by Dr Francisco Sepulveda, hopes to have created a system that dispenses completely with the mouse/keyboard interface. Joysticks, haptic interfaces, voice recognition and myolectriccontrols could be rendered obsolete, too.

'The challenge will be to make the brain-driven interface as reliable as these', said Sepulveda. 'This project will investigate how close we can get to this goal by means of genetic algorithms and better visual interface design.'

Users of the system include, but are not restricted to, people with disabilities or severe musculoskeletal disorders.

Current BCI designs work by observing EEG signals, then looking for specific features or waves, manipulating them and then making a decision as to whether such signals are meant to move a cursor up and down or left and right. This binary approach is achieved using a keyboard-like or 'daisy wheel' layout. The user thinks of a character and this is classified as 'on', switching all other characters to an 'off' position.