SBIR Phase II: Assistive Control System Harnessing Vestigial Neuromuscular Biosignals

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第二阶段项目将继续第一阶段项目中开始的工作，以充分探索来自耳朵周围残留肌肉的信号可以在多大程度上被重新用作一种新的人类能力。高等灵长类动物数百万年来一直不需要这些肌肉，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，从而绕过脊髓到脊髓，即使是最严重的脊髓损伤也能保持功能。该项目包括开发优化的耳机控制器设备，以及在各种现实世界应用中测试和评估这种新的控制方式，这对瘫痪和健全的人都是有用的。该项目在辅助技术领域将产生更广泛的影响/商业潜力。行动和人际互动的限制是决定肢体残障人士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，侵占了个人仅存的几个仍在运行的运动系统。这项辅助技术的创新可能会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。本质上，用户将开发一种新的命令输出模式，可以直观、不可见和无线地操作。

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.