Human Interface

Since implanting a sensory interface in a human in 2012, we’ve continued to blaze the trail to enable the sensation of touch in prosthetics, allowing amputees to feel “their hand” again. Beyond the emotional and aesthetic value of being able to touch again, enabling the sense of touch in prosthetics vastly improves function and quality of life in patients. 

But our work doesn’t stop there. Our research team—led by the Biomedical Engineering team at Case Western Reserve University in collaboration with the Neuromechanics Lab at Carnegie Mellon University—aspires to scale human presence and capability by communicating the sense of touch anywhere in the world through NeuroReality™.

We’re accomplishing this through frontend hardware and software that enable humans and devices to interact seamlessly through one of three main lines of technology: 

  • Non-invasive/wearable: Sensors worn on the skin that measure neural signals to assess someone’s intent to act
  • Minimally invasive: Intrafascicular electrodes that assess and communicate neural signals straight from the source
  • Implantable: Surgically implanted nerve cuffs that communicate directly with the peripheral nervous system

When facilitating communication between technology and humans, the possibilities are nearly endless. Our research on the human interface has the capacity to expand the human experience by allowing for fully immersive virtual experiences, the use of extended command controls with prosthetic devices for amputees, and even the restoration of sensation and movement for individuals with spinal cord injuries and paralysis.

Get to know some of the medical and commercial applications currently in the works

See how we connect with the human interface.

Human Interface Research Team

  • Dustin Tyler, PhD 
  • Doug Weber, PhD
  • Emily Graczyk, PhD