Sixth finger project: Natural learning of an additional limb by the human brain

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K12623
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Developmental mechanisms and the body works
• Research Institution: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
• Principal Investigator: Gowrishankar Ganesh 国立研究開発法人産業技術総合研究所, 情報・人間工学領域, 国際客員研究員 (10570244)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 宮脇 陽一 電気通信大学, 大学院情報理工学研究科, 教授 (80373372)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: BMI / 自然学習 / 機能拡張 / 可塑性

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this project we aimed to understand the key requirements for enabling a human brain to learn and use an artificial robot limb as naturally as one’s own limb? For this purpose: 1)We utilized psychophysical experiments to understand what characteristics of an artificial entity would make our brain feel as the entity is part of our self. 2)We developed a robotic extra (sixth) finger/ feedback system that can be controlled using neural signals and utilized it in experiments to test results in (1). 3)We developed a technique to isolate and verify the ‘free neural activity’ in the brain, that can be used to control artificial limbs. 5)Finally, though not initially in the project, we extended the results in (1) to define, for the first time, ‘embodiment’ by robots, and enable human-like tool cognition in robots.

Free Research Field

複合領域