SBIR Phase II: Assistive Control System Harnessing Vestigial Neuromuscular Biosignals

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目将继续第一阶段项目开始的工作，以充分探索耳朵周围退化肌肉的信号可以在多大程度上被重新利用为一种新的人类能力。数百万年来，高等灵长类动物并不需要这些肌肉，但它们几乎存在于每个人身上，并由直接来自脑干的神经控制，从而绕过脊髓，即使在脊髓严重损伤后也能保持功能。该项目包括开发一种优化的头戴式控制器设备，以及在各种实际应用中对这种新的控制方式进行测试和评估，这些应用将对瘫痪和健全的人都有用。该项目的广泛影响/商业潜力将在辅助技术领域具有重要意义。行动能力和人际交往的限制是决定残疾人功能独立性和生活质量的主要因素，但现有的辅助设备仍然笨重，并且篡夺了个人为数不多的仍在运作的运动系统。这种辅助技术的创新可以为瘫痪或肢体丧失的人带来一种新的控制器，并有可能改变任何人与环境的交互方式。从本质上讲，用户将开发一种新的命令输出模式，可以直观地、无形地和无线地操作。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will continue the work started in the Phase I project to fully explore the extent to which signals from the vestigial muscles around the ears can be repurposed as a new human ability. Higher primates have not needed these muscles for millions of years, yet they exist in nearly everyone and are controlled by nerves that come directly from the brainstem, thereby bypassing the spinal to cord to remain functional after even the highest spinal cord injuries. This project involves the development of an optimized headset controller device, along with the testing and evaluation of this new control modality in a variety of real-world applications that would be useful for both paralyzed and able-bodied people.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will be significant in the assistive technology space. Limitations of mobility and interpersonal interaction are primary factors determining functional independence and quality of life in people with physical disabilities, yet existing assistive devices remain cumbersome and usurp the individual's few remaining still-functioning motor systems. This innovation in assistive technology could bring a new controller to those with paralysis or limb loss, and has the potential to change how anyone interfaces with their environment. Users would, in essence, develop a new mode of command output that can be operated intuitively, invisibly, and wirelessly.