Robot Arms, EEG Interfaces and the like

OK so last week on the 25th of September I visited the ISRC (Intelligent Systems Research Centre) in Magee Campus (in Londonderry/Derry). Anyway, I was told that it had the most advanced and well equipped robotics lab in the entire UK and it didn't fail to impress. There were a number of demos in the centre and I had a look at the robotics lab and suprise, suprise, there was was my favorite robotic hand, the Shadow Hand. There is an image of it below:

In the robotics lab they also had one of the UK's largest electronic floors. It's basically a metal floor with an electric current running through it so the robots would never need to be charged.

   There is more however as I discovered in the BCL (Brain Control Lab) there was an EEG interface demo. An EEG basically picks up electrical signals from the surface of your brain and uses these signals to control movements. There were various examples of people playing games and people controlling robots to go left, right, forward and back all with using just their mind.

   I have to say it was a great afternoon observing the demos, especially the group of five robots that could be co-ordinated.