Milestone-Proposal talk:First Robotic Control from Human Brain Signals, 1988

Original Title and Citation -- Administrator4 (talk) 15:26, 29 July 2022 (UTC)

First Control of Physical Object (Robot) Using Signals From Human Brain, 1988

In 1988, in the Laboratory of Intelligent Machines and Bioinformation Systems located in this building, signals emanating from a human brain controlled the movement of a physical object (a robot) for the first time worldwide. That achievement linked EEG research with robotics and opened a new communication channel between humans and machines. EEG-controlled devices (wheelchairs, exoskeletons, etc.) became reality for the benefit of humanity.

Wordsmithing -- Allisonmarsh (talk) 16:38, 31 January 2021 (UTC)

Suggested change citation:

In 1988, in the Laboratory of Intelligent Machines and Bioinformation Systems located in this building, signals emanating from a human brain controlled the movement of a physical object (a robot) for the first time. This research linked EEG research with robotics and opened a new communication channel between humans and machines. The research and applications of controlling physical objects, such as home appliances, wheelchairs, prostheses, drones, and other robots, has since spread worldwide.

(73 words)

This removes the passive voice in the original first sentence. It also offers additional information as to the importance of the technical achievement.

I have emailed the proposer this suggested change & will update this page with his response.

Re: Wordsmithing -- Allisonmarsh (talk) 16:32, 15 February 2021 (UTC)

The proposer suggested the following changes to get it down to 65 words, which I approve.

In 1988, in the Laboratory of Intelligent Machines and Bioinformation Systems located in this building, signals emanating from a human brain controlled the movement of a physical object (a robot) for the first time worldwide. That linked EEG research with robotics and opened a new communication channel between humans and machines. The EEG controlled physical objects (wheelchairs, exoskeletons, etc) became reality, for benefit of humanity.

(65 words)

Re: Re: Wordsmithing -- Allisonmarsh (talk) 21:24, 11 March 2021 (UTC)

In re-reading the citation a month later, I realize I stumbled over the phrase "signals emanating from a human brain." Would it be accurate to rephrase to "human brain signals controlled the movement..."?

Re: Re: Re: Wordsmithing -- Allisonmarsh (talk) 14:53, 12 March 2021 (UTC)

Response from the proposer: "The phrase "signals emanating from a human brain" points out that the recording is taken non-invasively, outside the brain, which is important. Saying just "human brain signals" includes signal invasively taken inside the brain. In non-invasive case, electrodes are antennae, rather then needles inside the brain. The 1988 work was the first non-invasive EEG control of movement of a physical object, the invasive case happened 11 years later. Also "emanating from a human brain" relates to the idea of engineering solution of psychokinesis science fiction challenge. So I would suggest that the citation remains as it is now, as you proposed it earlier."

I withdraw my suggested wordsmithing.

Re: Re: Wordsmithing -- Bberg (talk) 22:21, 15 March 2021 (UTC)

I suggest these tweaks to the citation:

Remove "...worldwide." as this is implicit, and perhaps add "very" before "first time" to emphasize this point
Change "That linked..." to "This linked..."
Change "The EEG controlled..." to "The EEG-controlled..."
Change "for benefit" to "for the benefit"

Brian Berg

====Re: Re: Wordsmithing , 17 September 2022

Comment on Dr. Berg's suggestion: Replacing "for the first time worldwide" with "for the very first time" makes the citation ambiguous. It becomes not clear whether it is for the very first time relative to a region, a city, a university campus, or worldwide. The coordinate "for the first time worldwide" gives both the time ordering and geographic scope of the event. So, with suggested minor changes, the citation should be:

In 1988, in the Laboratory of Intelligent Machines and Bioinformation Systems located in this building, signals emanating from a human brain controlled the movement of a physical object (a robot) for the first time worldwide. This linked EEG research with robotics, and opened a new communication channel between humans and machines. The EEG-controlled physical objects (wheelchairs, exoskeletons, etc) became reality, for the benefit of humanity. (64 words)

Stevo Bozinovski

Shortening the title -- Administrator4 (talk) 14:01, 16 February 2021 (UTC)

Recommend shortening the title to make it fit better on the plaque and so as not to duplicate words in the citation. Also uppercase according to IEEE style.

Current title: First control of a physical object (a robot) using signals emanating from a human brain - 1988

Recommended title: First Control of a Physical Object (Robot) Using Signals from a Human Brain, 1988

Re: Shortening the title -- Allisonmarsh (talk) 15:11, 16 February 2021 (UTC)

I have no problem with this, but defer to the proposer.

Where are the two reviews? -- John Vardalas (talk) 21:43, 15 March 2021 (UTC)

I do not see the minimum two external reviews. The proposal looks solid. But I'm not an expert in this area. So I would need these reviews before I decide on my vote or even attempt to wordsmith the citation.

expert reviews -- JaninA (talk) 11:34, 17 March 2021 (UTC)

I second John Vardalas question. Where are experts' opinions?!

Janina

Review from Hojjat Adeli -- Allisonmarsh (talk) 21:02, 21 June 2021 (UTC)

Listed below is a review from Hojjat Adeli that was emailed to me on 21 June 2021. Dr. Adeli has been the Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Neural Systems since 2005 and has an overview of the field. He has also published some seminal works in automated EEG-based diagnosis of neurological and psychiatric disorders and BCI.

Review:

I fully support this proposal as an IEEE Milestone. Responses to the three questions are:

The proposal gives evidence that the Plague Citation stated in the proposal is accurate. The event is published in 1988 at a IEEE Conference. The photographs provided in the media part of the proposal are evidence that the event has been prepared and executed in a well-designed lab. As can be seen from citations today many applications exist controlling machines using EEG.

The proposal has narrative supported by 25 references, with excerpts of relevant sentences, from journals and other relevant sources. It also has 15 media evidences including 6 photographs of the mentioned laboratory and the lab setup where this event took place. Among references, I would point out the timeline of historical events in neural interfaces published by The Royal Society (reference 21). Other references listed in the proposal point out to current industry which produces devices for EEG control of machines (e.g. company Emotiv, reference 18).

The proposal gives evidence that the proposed milestone represent a significant technical achievement. It is the first in the world control of a physical object (a robot) using EEG generated by a human brain. Today many physical objects are being controlled by EEG signals, especially for medical applications (paraplegic and other patients) but also for application in games, arts, control of exoskeletons, drones, wheelchairs, home appliances, prostheses, and other areas. There are many companies working in this area and the market is growing.

Regards, Hojjat Adeli, Distinguished Member, ASCE, Fellow, IEEE, AIMBE, AAAS, and American Neurological Association Academy Professor The Ohio State University Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Neural Systems

Letter from expert reviewer -- Celia (talk) 12:55, 9 August 2022 (UTC)

Media:Ashley_review.pdf

Celia Shahnaz advocate approval -- Celia (talk) 17:26, 29 September 2022 (UTC)

Media:Celia_Shahnaz_advocate_approval.pdf

Final Citation Sentence Comments -- Bberg (talk) 17:33, 2 October 2022 (UTC)

I suggest that the last sentence be reworded as "EEG-controlled devices such as wheelchairs and exoskeletons became reality for the benefit of humanity and beyond."

== Comment on Dr. Berg's comment -- sbozinovski 14 October 2022 ==

I would point out that the IEEE logo is "Advancing Technology for Humanity". So it is better to remain "for the benefit of humanity" rather than "for the benefit of humanity and beyond".

Mentioning only exoskeletons and wheelchairs is rather restrictive. A more descriptive sentence would be " various robots, drones, assistive robotic arms, wheelchairs, and exoskeletons". But that would increase the number of words.

The word "etc." in Dr. Shahnaz's citation includes all applications, also the ones that would appear in the future, and even beyond humanity.

Stevo Bozinovski

Re: Final Citation Sentence Comments -- Amy Bix (talk) 15:44, 30 November 2022 (UTC)

Nice work here and nice citation overall! But to me, the ending phrase - either "for the benefit of humanity" or "for the benefit of humanity and beyond" - sounds ridiculously pompous. It also manages to overlook two basic facts: 1. that the question of "benefit" depends on one's perspective (benefit for whom? benefit for what? at what cost?) and 2. that many technologies that benefit humans potentially can or have already been used in harmful ways or with some negative effects for some. So in this case, clearly, better wheelchairs are a benefit. But are drones always a "benefit to mankind"? Some uses can be considered net benefits, but I would still stop short of calling drones overall an unqualified "benefit to mankind", given noise pollution, security and aviation issues, privacy issues, promotion of illegal activities, harms to wildlife, and applications in war. And robotics raises many ethical and social issues - workers who believe that jobs have been eliminated by robotics would not consider that a benefit. And ironically, just last night, San Francisco approved having police deploy potentially lethal, remote-controlled robots - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/29/san-francisco-police-robots-deadly-force - supposedly for now with controls - but not everyone exactly trusts US police these days.

Could I suggest avoiding this issue by rephrasing the last sentence as:

"EEG-controlled devices (wheelchairs, exoskeletons, etc.) benefitted numerous users and expanded technology's role in modern society."

This is only one or three words longer than the other versions, and has the advantage of acknowledging that this technology clearly benefitted many users, while stopping short of calling this an unqualified, unquestionable gain for everyone across the world in all cases.

Comment on Dr. Bix's comment -- sbozinovski 12 December 2022

With gratitude for Dr. Bix's comment, I am accepting the change she proposed.

Now the citation is "In 1988, in the Laboratory of Intelligent Machines and Bioinformation Systems located in this building, signals emanating from a human brain controlled the movement of a physical object (a robot) for the first time worldwide. This linked EEG research with robotics, and opened a new communication channel between humans and machines. EEG controlled devices (wheelchairs, exoskeletons, etc.) benefitted numerous users and expanded technology's role in modern society." (67 words)

Stevo Bozinovski