Battelle awarded DARPA contract for bi-directional brain computer interface

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recently awarded a contract to a team led by Battelle, an Ohio-based research and development company.

Battelle has successfully demonstrated a brain-computer interface. This technology will be used to help DARPA’s Next-Generation Non-Surgical Neurotechnology program develop a high-performing, bi-directional brain-machine interface. The interface would be used to allow military service members to find low risk and less invasive options for tasks such as bomb disposal.

Battelle’s system is called Brain System to Transmit Or Receive Magnetoelectric Signals (BrainSTORMS).

“This is one of the most exciting and challenging projects I have worked on,” Battelle Senior Research Scientist Gaurav Sharma said. “With BrainSTORMS, we will again be pushing the limits engineering and physics. If successful, this technology would not only provide a safe and efficient way to facilitate human-machine interactions but also has the potential to revolutionize the study of the nervous system.”

Phase one has already begun. If successful, DARPA will fund phases two and three. The full contract is valued at approximately $20 million over four years.

The Air Force Research Laboratory will conduct human demonstration studies before the end of the project.

The team also includes nanoparticle and neural engineering researchers.