TI showcases thought-controlled wheelchair

Semiconductor firm Texas Instruments (TI), which provides processing solutions to various industries, today showcased the 'thought-controlled' motorised wheelchair for the physically-challenged, at the Texas Instruments Developers Conference (TIDC) India 2007 here.

The wheelchair is neither controlled mechanically nor by speech, but is guided by thought and movement of the Adam's apple. Developed by Ambient Corporation, the new application is based on the MSP 430 microcontroller developed by Texas Instruments.

When a person intends to communicate with the wheelchair, an implanted sensor / larynx control system reads the electrical signals the brain uses to command the larynx to speak. The sensor then processes and sends this information to a computer which carries out a direct command in the form of motor control.

"So, to make a wheelchair move left, right, back or forward, one simply needs to think about these actions and make a slight movement of the Adam's apple. Applications such as these demonstrate how technology can better the lives of disadvantaged people", said Praveen Ganapathy, Director (Corporate Business Development), TI India.

Michael Callahan, co-founder and CEO of Ambient Corporation, said: "The present technology enables you to press a button and a word or a phrase is emitted. However, there are severely-disabled people who have neither the physical dexterity this requires nor the power of speech. Such solutions are intended for them. Different brains use different signals to form different words, but the computer can be trained to understand the brain by hooking it up to the patient, asking him to think specific words at specific times and noting the signals the brain produces."

Technology that can help bring down the cost of high definition video and drive adoption of video across emerging sectors like surveillance IP cameras, high-definition television (HDTV) and medical imaging were also showcased at the conference. Representatives of TI and their customers, partners and universities addressed the conference on innovation and developments in multiple application domains.

Over 25 of TI's top hardware, software, component, service, design and manufacturing partners exhibited their solutions at the conference.

The exhibition areas will be open till November 30. "TIDC showcases technologies and solutions that will help improve the quality of life and make technology more affordable. We are highly encouraged by the response and the display of the latest trends in electronics technology at TIDC 2007," said TI India MD Biswadeep (Bobby) Mitra.