美国匹兹堡大学Robert A. Gaunt、Jennifer L. Collinger等研究人员合作发现，唤起触觉的脑机界面可改善机械臂的控制。相关论文于2021年5月21日在线发表于国际学术期刊《科学》。

研究人员通过使用双向脑计算机界面诱发的触觉感知来补充了视觉，该界面记录了运动皮层的神经活动，并通过体感皮层的皮层内微刺激产生了触觉。这使四肢瘫痪的人能够显著改善机器人的肢体表现。临床上肢评估的试验时间减少了一半，从中值时间20.9减少到10.2秒。更快的时间主要是由于花在尝试抓住物体上的时间减少了，这表明模仿已知的生物控制原理可以使任务表现更接近健全者的能力。

据了解，由脑机接口控制的假肢可以使四肢瘫痪的人进行功能性运动。但是，视觉只能提供有限的反馈，因为有关抓握物体的信息最好通过触觉反馈来传递。

附：英文原文

Title: A brain-computer interface that evokes tactile sensations improves robotic arm control

Author: Sharlene N. Flesher, John E. Downey, Jeffrey M. Weiss, Christopher L. Hughes, Angelica J. Herrera, Elizabeth C. Tyler-Kabara, Michael L. Boninger, Jennifer L. Collinger, Robert A. Gaunt

Issue&Volume: 2021/05/21

Abstract: Prosthetic arms controlled by a brain-computer interface can enable people with tetraplegia to perform functional movements. However, vision provides limited feedback because information about grasping objects is best relayed through tactile feedback. We supplemented vision with tactile percepts evoked using a bidirectional brain-computer interface that records neural activity from the motor cortex and generates tactile sensations through intracortical microstimulation of the somatosensory cortex. This enabled a person with tetraplegia to substantially improve performance with a robotic limb; trial times on a clinical upper-limb assessment were reduced by half, from a median time of 20.9 to 10.2 seconds. Faster times were primarily due to less time spent attempting to grasp objects, revealing that mimicking known biological control principles results in task performance that is closer to able-bodied human abilities.

DOI: 10.1126/science.abd0380

Source: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/372/6544/831