CogniGame:
Control by the power of thought
with a brain-computer interface and conventional
operation with muscular force (top).
Training for the brain and muscles:
The ExoHand
in combination with a brain-computer interface
(
bottom left).
A possible future scenario:
Controlling machines
by thoughts (bottom right).
mere thought of such movement. It
is therefore sufficient to simply imagine
the left hand moving, for example,
in order to move the hardware in that
direction.
The future is interactive
The ExoHand and CogniGame show the
enormous potential that human-machine
interaction holds for the future. In in-
dustry, operators will be able to perform
laborious tasks, which can currently
only be performed by the human hand,
with incredible flexibility.
Robots with highly sensitive remote-
control operation not only allow
high-precision work to be carried out
over long distances, but also let people
feel what and how the robot grips. By
bridging the gap between the human
brain and the hardware to be controlled,
humans and machines can become
partners for a future that until just a few
years ago only researchers and science
fiction authors could dream of.
www.festo.com/bionic
2.2012
trends in automation
Compass
18
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19