Foto: Daimler AG
freedom of action of workers in produc-
tion. It can be fitted not only over the hu-
man hand, but also over an artificial hand
made of silicone and functions simulta-
neously both as the operator interface
and a robotic hand. Information flows
from the person to the machine and from
the machine to the person. The operator
need no longer rely merely on his or her
visual and acoustic perception, but can
actually feel forms and resistances or the
effects of applied forces.
Strength in everyday use
In the area of rehabilitation, the ExoHand
will in the future be suitable for use as
an active manual orthosis – a medical
device that stabilises, relieves or con-
trols limbs. The active manual orthosis
can help stroke patients who are show-
ing the first signs of paralysis to restore
the missing connection between brain
and hand. A brain-computer interface
recognises the electroencephalography
signals (EEG) from the brain and thus
the patient’s desire to open or close the
unique is the fact that one player
controls his bat by thought alone via
a brain-computer interface (BCI). The
brain-computer interface measures volt-
age fluctuations on the player’s head
by means of fixed electrodes.
Using your head to move
For this game, Festo developed Cogni-
Ware, a proprietary software solution
that allows control of the bat by means
of thoughts and biological signals.
CogniWare establishes communication
The heart of the new operational
concepts:
Software as a channel for
human-machine communication.
between the brain and hardware with-
out the user having to interact by means
of voice commands or input devices.
The brain-computer interface and the
CogniWare software register the thought
patterns in the player’s brain, process
them and convey them to the hardware.
For CogniGame, the developers from
Festo made use of a commercially avail-
able brain-computer interface that is
fitted out with a total of 14 signal elec-
trodes and two reference electrodes.
This interface samples the brain signals
at a rate of 128 times per second. These
signals are then filtered and conveyed
to the software. Operation of the
brain-computer interface is linked with
measurement of the “mu rhythm” that
is generated by the motor-sensory cortex
of the brain. The mu rhythm occurs as a
result of physical movement or even the
hand. The movements are carried out
by the ExoHand with the brain-com-
puter interface. This creates a training
effect, which over time helps patients
to move their hand again without any
technical assistance.
The power of thought
The brain-computer interface represents
the next generation of human-machine
interfaces. CogniGame from Festo shows
how a thought-controlled operational
concept can work in practice. It is a rein-
terpretation of a well-known video game
from the 1970s. Based on the game
of table tennis, players used a joystick
to move a paddle up and down on the
screen to return the ball to their oppo-
nent. For CogniGame, the developers
at Festo transferred the virtual game
to a real playing field built using Festo
components. What makes CogniGame