We have already begun evaluating our brain–actuated
wheelchair with motor–disabled patients in partnership with
medical practitioners and rehabilitation clinics, but this is an
arduous process that will take significantly longer than the
initial trials with healthy subjects. This is for a number of
reasons, not least that patients tend to take part in fewer
sessions per week and generally tire more quickly than healthy
participants. This leads us to another one of the exciting
new challenges for the future of such shared control systems.
Since each user’s needs are not only different, but also change
throughout the day (e.g. due to fatigue, frustration etc.), it is
not sufficient that a shared control system offers a constant
level of assistance. Furthermore, if this assistance is not well–
matched to the user, it could lead to degradation or loss of
function. Therefore we are developing shared control systems
that adapt to the user’s evolving needs, given not only the
environmental context, but also the state of the user. This will
allow people to use intelligent assistive devices in their day–
to–day lives for extended periods of time