Minds moving matter

Wired News reports that Spanish scientists are working on a new brain-computer interface that will allow a robotic wheelchair to be controlled by a person’s thoughts.
According to the January 29 story by Emmet Cole, the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science has invested 180,000 euros in the project, which would see small electrodes placed on the scalp. Two 800-MHz Intel computers would be mounted on the wheelchair to process the readings and send simple commands such as “left” and “right,” or even “go to the kitchen.”
According to the story, other researchers in this area of biometrics have had some success in similar endeavours, but using wires physically plugged into a person’s brain. This research uses small, non-invasive devices that record the rhythms from the surface of the skull.
The research is being done at the University of Zaragoza.