Since the beginning of this year, the Faculty of Technology and Bionics at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences has been developing communication technologies suitable for everyday use as part of the ‘Brain-Computer Interfaces for Everyday Use in Old Age’ (ABCI) project, with the aim of improving the quality of life for older people.
Kleve/Kamp-Lintfort, 21 January 2014: Enabling older people to live in their own homes despite a physical disability requires not only support from family and care services, but also technological advances. Modern information and communication technologies, which help people lead more independent lives with the aid of so-called brain-computer interfaces and other interfaces, are a good example of this. These interfaces enable the user to issue commands – such as moving a wheelchair or controlling a speech computer – through eye or tongue movements, or simply by changes in brain activity.
As part of a research and development project led by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ivan Volosyak, Professor of Biomedicine and Engineering, the Faculty of Technology and Bionics at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences is pursuing an approach that takes a further step towards the development of these communication technologies. For example, existing methods such as magnetic or tongue control are being improved in a cost-effective manner, and new, fast and robust solutions are being further developed for use wherever an additional channel of communication between a person and their environment is required.
“It will be several years yet before this new technology is ready for the market. Our research focuses on modern methods in the field of ‘human-machine interaction’, primarily with a view to developing a communication system suitable for everyday use – including for use in old age – through inter- and transdisciplinary collaboration between different fields of research,” says Prof. Dr.-Ing. Volosyak.
The results of this research project are to be demonstrated at a later stage using test subjects in order to attract the attention of potential manufacturers and users.
The ‘ABCI’ project was approved on 11 November 2013 and is funded as part of the ‘IKT 2020 – Research for Innovation’ programme run by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The total cost of the project amounts to approximately 200,000 euros. Rhein University of Applied Sciences would like to thank the BMBF for its funding.
Associated partner: Brain Products GmbH, Gilching
Duration: 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2015
