CSU-Northridge, UCLA Researchers Try to Harness Brain-Computer Interface
  Technology for Wheelchairs
From: Diverse: Issues in Higher Education - 09/21/2011
By: Amara Phillip 

Researchers at California State University-Northridge (CSUN) and the
University of California, Los Angeles are developing a motorized wheelchair
that can be operated using brain-computer interface (BCI) technology. The
wheelchair can run in an autonomous mode in which the computer makes
navigating decisions or in a hybrid mode in which the user issues commands.
The real challenge going forward will be trying to marry unpredictable human
behavior with the precision of computers, says CSUN professor CT Lin, who is
leading the research. He notes that BCI technology requires the brain and the
computer to interact, which can lead to widely divergent results. "If you are
turning a corner, and you generate the thoughts too early or too late, you
will have a turn that is going to become awkward," Lin says. The prototype is
being tested by a CSUN student and a faculty member who both have a physical
disability. The wheelchair features a laptop computer, a laser sensor, and a
headset, which includes electrodes that are attached to the user's head and
absorb brain waves. Software converts the brain waves into actions that
direct the wheelchair to move in specific directions. 

Read the entire article at:
http://diverseeducation.com/article/16406/

Links:
CT Lin
http://www.ecs.csun.edu/me/lin.html

A Non-Invasive Brain-Computer Interface for Autonomous Wheelchair Mobility
http://www.letsgoexpo.com/utilities/File/viewfile.cfm?LCID=4491&eID=80000300

No Longer Just Science Fiction, CSUN Researchers Tap into Brain’s Power to
  Control Wheelchair
http://www.americantowns.com/ca/northridge/news/no-longer-just-science-fiction-csun-researchers-tap-into-brain-s-power-to-control-wheelchair-4609106