Papers by Solaiman Shokur
American Journal of Epidemiology, 2008
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2013
Nature, Jan 1, 2011
Brain-machine interfaces 1,2 use neuronal activity recorded from the brain to establish direct co... more Brain-machine interfaces 1,2 use neuronal activity recorded from the brain to establish direct communication with external actuators, such as prosthetic arms. It is hoped that brain-machine interfaces can be used to restore the normal sensorimotor functions of the limbs, but so far they have lacked tactile sensation. Here we report the operation of a brain-machine-brain interface (BMBI) that both controls the exploratory reaching movements of an actuator and allows signalling of artificial tactile feedback through intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) of the primary somatosensory cortex. Monkeys performed an active exploration task in which an actuator (a computer cursor or a virtual-reality arm) was moved using a BMBI that derived motor commands from neuronal ensemble activity recorded in the primary motor cortex. ICMS feedback occurred whenever the actuator touched virtual objects. Temporal patterns of ICMS encoded the artificial tactile properties of each object. Neuronal recordings and ICMS epochs were temporally multiplexed to avoid interference. Two monkeys operated this BMBI to search for and distinguish one of three visually identical objects, using the virtual-reality arm to identify the unique artificial texture associated with each. These results suggest that clinical motor neuroprostheses might benefit from the addition of ICMS feedback to generate artificial somatic perceptions associated with mechanical, robotic or even virtual prostheses.
… in Medicine and …, Jan 1, 2010
This paper proposes a novel experimental environment to evaluate multimodal feedback strategies f... more This paper proposes a novel experimental environment to evaluate multimodal feedback strategies for augmented navigation of the visually impaired. The environment consists of virtual obstacles and walls, an optical tracking system and a simple device with audio and vibrotactile feedback that interacts with the virtual environment, and presents many advantages in terms of safety, flexibility, control over experimental parameters and cost. The subject can freely move in an empty room, while the position of head and arm are tracked in real time. A virtual environment (walls, obstacles) is randomly generated, and audio and vibrotactile feedback are given according to the distance from the subjects arm to the virtual walls/objects. We investigate the applicability of our environment using a simple, commercially available feedback device. Experiments with unimpaired subjects show that it is possible to use the setup to "blindly" navigate in an unpredictable virtual environment. This validates the environment as a test platform to investigate navigation and exploration strategies of the visually impaired, and to evaluate novel technologies for augmented navigation.
Advances in Artificial Life, Jan 1, 2003
Proceedings of the Second …, Jan 1, 2005
These proceedings collect a set of papers presented at the second RoboCare Workshop held in Rome ... more These proceedings collect a set of papers presented at the second RoboCare Workshop held in Rome on May 5 th , 2005. The contributions cover the spectrum of research carried out in the second year of project "RoboCare -A Multi-Agent System with Intelligent Fixed and Mobile Robotic Components" approved by the Italian Ministry for Education, University and Research (MIUR) under Law 449/97 (Funds 2000).
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Papers by Solaiman Shokur