Seminar Details
2019-04-23 (14:00) : Restoring natural tactile feedback in bionic hands through a peripheral nerve interface
At Euler building (room A.002)
Organized by Mathematical Engineering
Speaker :
Delhaye, Benoit
Abstract :
Tactile feedback is essential to achieve a dexterous bionic hand. Without touch, interactions with objects are slow and clumsy, and require constant attention. In this talk, I will describe recent advances toward restoring useful somatosensory feedback in bionic hands through electrical stimulation of the peripheral nerves using chronically implanted electrode arrays. First, I will show that the perceived intensity of a tactile stimulus can be systematically manipulated by modulating the aggregate response of tactile nerve fibers and discuss how this response can be systematically manipulated by controlling stimulation parameters. Second, I will discuss the advantages of the biomimetic approach to tactile restoration. In brief, the closer we can mimic the activity that would be produced in the nerve during natural tactile interactions with objects, the more natural and useful the evoked sensations will be. I describe an approach we have developed to convey such naturalistic tactile feedback.