FERI: The Wonderful World of Muscles and Muscle-Machine Interfaces with Dr. Aleš Holobar and Team

Saturday, April 20, 2024

Muscles enable us to move, breathe, and perform various tasks. They are crucial for maintaining metabolism and body mass. They play a significant role in maintaining posture and help regulate body temperature. We communicate with our environment through muscles, both verbally and non-verbally. Muscles translate and amplify the electrical commands from brain centers, allowing their use in advanced human-machine communication. Capturing the electrical activity of muscles does not require invasive methods; it can be detected non-invasively on the skin surface above the individual muscle.

Using computational algorithms, the recorded signals can be used to estimate the user's level of fatigue, stress, or effort exerted during movement. This allows for objective evaluation of rehabilitation or training effectiveness and monitoring muscle aging. The recorded electrical activity of muscles holds many surprises. For example, it can be used to control a virtual third arm. Curious how? Join us in exploring the wonderful world of muscles and discover the capabilities of advanced muscle-machine interfaces that can be integrated into bracelets, clothing, or smart furniture.

The HybridNeuro project is funded by the European Union under the EU's Horizon Europe research and innovation program (grant agreement No. 101079392) and the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Horizon Europe Guarantee scheme (grant agreement No. 10052152).