Justin Horowitz,
UIC graduate research assistant in bioengineering,
developed a
mathematical algorithm that can “see” intention.
(October 7, 2015) What
if software could steer a car back on track if the driver swerves on ice? Or
guide a prosthesis to help a shaky stroke patient smoothly lift a cup?
Bioengineers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have
developed a mathematical algorithm that can “see” your intention while
performing an ordinary action like reaching for a cup or driving straight up a
road — even if the action is interrupted.
The study is published online in the journal PLOS ONE.
“Say you’re reaching for a piece of paper and your hand is
bumped mid-reach — your eyes take time to adjust; your nerves take time to
process what has happened; your brain takes time to process what has happened
and even more time to get a new signal to your hand,” said Justin Horowitz, UIC
graduate student research assistant and first author of the study.
“So, when something unexpected happens, the signal going to
your hand can’t change for at least a tenth of a second — if it changes at
all,” Horowitz said.
In a first test of this concept, Horowitz employed exactly
the scenario he described — he analyzed the movement of research subjects as
they reached for an object on a virtual desk, but had their hand pushed in the
wrong direction. He was able to develop an advanced mathematical algorithm that
analyzed the action and estimated the subject’s intent, even when there was a
disturbance and no follow through.