Exclusive Q&A: World cup kickoff looms for demo of brain-controlled machine | Science

During the World Cup next week, there may be 1 minute during the opening ceremony when the boisterous stadium crowd in São Paulo falls silent: when a paraplegic young person wearing a brain-controlled, robotic exoskeleton attempts to rise from a wheelchair, walk several steps, and kick a soccer ball. The neuroscientist behind the planned event, Miguel Nicolelis, is familiar with the spotlight. His lab at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, pioneered brain-computer interfaces, using surgically implanted electrodes to read neural signals that can control robotic arms.

As his team prepares for the 12 June kick, Nicolelis gives Science a hint of the technology under the hood, and defends his decision to arrange such a conspicuous debut for a tool still in the early stages of development.

Read more by Kelly Servick on Science

If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:

• Exoskeleton with haptic sensors helps paralysed man to kick off World Cup
• Chess, Jeopardy and now… Ping Pong? Kuka robot goes up against table tennis champion Timo Boll
• Packbot: Serving the Military and World Cup Football
• Rehab robots, smart prostheses and exoskeletons to reach $1.8 billion by 2020
• Ekso Bionics goes public for $20.6 million

See all the latest robotics news on Robohub, or sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Hallie Siegel robotics editor-at-large

Hallie Siegel robotics editor-at-large