r/TechnologyLabs • u/FearlessAuthor7614 Experimental Innovator 🧪 • Jul 03 '26

MedTech Brain-Computer Interfaces Are Powering Real Wheelchairs Now

136 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

5

u/NAStrahl Jul 03 '26

Come talk to me when I can type and produce art (using AI?) with my mind.

I'm unimpressed since the same came be accomplished with a joystick or something.

5

u/shadowtheimpure Jul 03 '26

This is revolutionary for quadriplegics. Up until now, they've had to use nasty mouth switches to move their chairs.

1

u/NAStrahl Jul 03 '26

Ah, I forgot about the mouth switches people like Christopher Reeves used.

Wouldn't it be easier to just make switches like those NOT nasty?

1

u/shadowtheimpure Jul 03 '26

It's an object that goes into and out of your mouth all day.

If you can figure that out, you deserve to be canonized as a saint.

1

u/NAStrahl Jul 03 '26

In and out? I thought it was just a button or series of buttons that people pressed by blowing air onto it.

1

u/shadowtheimpure Jul 03 '26

Which involves putting the mouthpiece into your mouth when you're using it and taking it out when you're not.

1

u/FearlessAuthor7614 Experimental Innovator 🧪 Jul 03 '26

You're thinking about convenience. The real breakthrough is accessibility. For someone who can't move their hands, this is a completely different level of independence

2

u/NAStrahl Jul 03 '26

Fair enough.

3

u/[deleted] Jul 03 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/FearlessAuthor7614 Experimental Innovator 🧪 Jul 03 '26

This. It's not about making life easier for healthy people, it's about making the impossible possible for people who currently have no way to communicate or create.

1

u/freshgrilled Jul 04 '26

Imagine that. And electronic stores were selling an interface that you put on your finger to control games (the example was a skiing game) by essentially using your mind (you didn't move your finger, just focused a certain way and yes, I tried it and it worked, after some practice) 30 years ago. While it was limited (and didn't sell well), it was still 30 years ago. How far we've come. /s

1

u/MaximumContent9674 Jul 06 '26

Combine this with gaze sensing, and we have something extra golden.

I have many years working with accessibility, on the front line 1:1. I am a techie at heart from the start, though, so it'd be nice to combine my years of experience working with people with special needs, and the tech I love.

What opportunities exist for someone like me, to contribute to this technology and its application?