A mind-controlled wheelchair that translates brain signals into wheel movements brings hope to more than 5.4 million Americans with motor disabilities. The technology, created by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin, includes a skullcap with 31 electrodes designed to detect signals in the brain region regulating movement and a laptop fixed on the wheelchair so the AI could translate the signals into wheel movements. And all patients have to do is imagine they are moving their hands and feet. To move right, the users imagined moving both arms and to move left, they imagined moving both legs. A mind-controlled wheelchair proved successful in helping paralyzed patients navigate a cluttered room.

Three people with paralysis of all four limbs used their thoughts to steer a wheelchair through a cluttered room with a reasonably high level of accuracy. This suggests people with paralysis could move independently through certain rooms, but the technology may not be advanced enough to navigate a busy street. A range of different researchers have previously used two main strategies to test mind-controlled wheelchairs on non-disabled people. The first involves a person focusing on a flickering light in a particular location. This generates brain signals that an artificial intelligence translates into wheelchair movements towards that location, but this approach often leads to eyestrain.