Nizhny Novgorod scientists from Lobachevsky University (NNGU) have presented an innovative system that allows controlling the movements of robots using motor imagination. The fully domestic development is based on miniature memristor chips that were created at the university.
According to Alexey Mikhailov, Head of the Research Laboratory of Memristor Nanoelectronics at NNGU, research in the field of neurocontrol has been conducted at the university for more than ten years. The new system is a significant step forward: memristors were used in neurocontrol for the first time in Russia.
Scientists emphasize that all the electronics involved in the project are produced in Russia. Memristor chips are manufactured in the NNGU laboratory in collaboration with the Research Institute of Measuring Systems named after Yu.E. Sedakov. Brain signals are read using an EEG helmet and transmitted to a board with a memristor chip via Wi-Fi. The unit can be located either on the operator or on the robot or prosthesis itself.
The new electronic base will reduce energy consumption, which, in turn, will reduce the weight and size of devices. Thanks to the compactness and speed of memristors, no additional computing power will be required to process signals.
The neurocontrol system can significantly improve the interaction of patients with "thought-controlled" devices such as wheelchairs, prostheses, and exoskeletons. Scientists emphasized that the development can be used in unmanned aerial vehicle control systems.
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