This talk will be given by Professor Rasmus Petersen, from the Division of Neuroscience, University of Manchester.

Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) are groundbreaking technologies designed to help people who have lost the ability to move or communicate, due, for example, to spinal cord injuries or strokes. These systems work by recording signals from the brain and translating them into commands that can control external devices, such as robotic arms or communication tools.

Professor Petersen says: “In this talk, I’ll explain what BMIs are, how they work, and show real examples of what they can do today. Importantly, these advances rest on decades of fundamental neuroscience, both in understanding how the brain controls movement, and in developing the methods to record neuronal activity. This discovery science is the foundation that makes BMIs possible, and continuing it is key to future breakthroughs.