Brain-Computer Interfaces Could Mean More Freedom for the
Disabled   This is the VOA Special English Technology Report.
Since the nineteen seventies, scientists have been searching for
ways to link the brain with computers. Brain-computer interface,
or BCI, technology could help people with disabilities send
commands to machines.  Recently, scientists demonstrated a small
robotic vehicle directed by a person's thoughts. The
demonstration took place at the Swiss embassy in Washington.
Jose Millan and Michele Tavella developed the system. Mr.
Tavella can even talk as he watches the vehicle and guides it
with his thoughts.  MICHELE TAVELLA: "That's very, very easy.
That's the simplest part we could say because moving one hand or
the other is a very, very common task. There is no workload.
It’s very, very simple."  Mr. Tavella is a researcher at the
Federal Polytechnic School in Lausanne, Switzerland. In the
laboratory, he can operate a wheelchair just by thinking about
moving his left or right hand.  Professor