Welding is going hands-free. A mind-controlled robot can weld metal together after receiving mental instructions from its operator.
The person controlling the robot wears an electroencephalography (EEG) cap, which measures the brain鈥檚 electrical activity via the scalp. They then look at a screen that has several pre-selected metal seams for the robot to weld.
Each option on the screen flickers in turn and the operator stares at their choice. When their chosen option flickers, it generates a specific electrical response in the brain detectable by the EEG.
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By matching the electrical responses to the timing of the options displayed, the robot can identify where the operator was looking and therefore which welding seam they want to proceed with.
If the operator is happy the robot understands their choice, they push a button to kick the robotic welder into action. The system was created by Yao Li and Thenkurussi Kesavadas at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Robot welders are widely used in vehicle manufacturing, for increasing efficiency and reducing labour costs. But they can also pose a safety risk to human factory workers: in 2015, a Volkswagen employee was killed in a German factory when a robot grabbed and crushed him, although accidents like this are rare.
The hands-free nature of the robot could help operators perform task from further away. The robot also has a built-in camera for detecting if it comes close too close to a person鈥檚 skin to try to avoid accidents.
The next step will be to develop smart robots that can respond intuitively to the factory environment and adjust their movements based on the behavior of operators around them, says Li.
