HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. — Students and professors at Northern Kentucky University are working to help revolutionize the world of robotic prosthetics.

What You Need To Know

  • Northern Kentucky University students and professors designed and built a robotic arm that can be controlled with the user’s mind

  • The headset device captures brain signals, then classifies and processes them before converting them into commands for the arm

  • The arm is 3D printed and made of more than 80 small parts

  • They plan to add sensory feedback eventually, giving patients a sense of temperature, pressure and touch

They’ve designed and built a robotic arm that can be controlled by the user’s mind.

Mahdi Yazdanpour is an assistant professor of Mechatronics Engineering Technology at NKU, and the program coordinator. He’s been working on designing and developing the hybrid brain-computer interface and brain controlled prosthetic arm for three years.

“So we can capture human brain signals and then send them to our control unit right here,” Yazdanpour said. “Our main goal is to help people with upper limb amputation to control this robotic arm with the power of their mind.”

The arm is 3D printed and made of more than 80 small parts.

Most prosthetics out there use EMG, or electromyography sensors, capturing electrical pulses from muscles. The one at NKU uses an EEG, or electroencephalogram interface and is noninvasive.

First, the headset device captures brain signals, then classifies and processes them before converting them into commands for the arm. Yazdanpour says it’s much more precise than previous robotic arms.

Students Vu Tran and Nathan Reed have played pivotal roles in the design and software, respectively.

“Right now, we have five actuators. So each finger can move independently,” Tran said.

Reed gave a demonstration, opening and closing a fist using only his thoughts.

“Our hope with this project is it will be a lot cheaper than a lot of the currently available things that are on the market,” he said.

Yangyang Tao, assistant professor of Computer Science is also a consultant for the project.

They plan to add sensory feedback eventually, giving patients a sense of temperature, pressure and touch.

The Amputee Coalition of America estimates there are 185,000 new amputees each year. The work being done at NKU has the potential to give them back the kind of control that’s never been possible before.

The group plans to invite amputees to test out the product this semester. The goal is to integrate the technology into everyday hats to control the arms.

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