‘Breaking into your Brain’, talk by Dr Aldo Faisal

By applying computing, physics and engineering methodology to experiments with our brains, Dr Aldo Faisal is throwing new light on to how they work and at the same time is making practical use of the knowledge.

He is pioneering "frugal engineering" to neurotechnology by using cheap components to solve complex problems at minimal cost. He has, for example, built a machine that reads the movements of the eyes to control other machines with off-the-shelf components for less than £30 (NHS machines cost £20,000). This low cost equipment will enable paralysed people to communicate by writing and with an electronic voice, play games on a screen and control motorised vehicles. Dr Faisal is the Director of the Brain and Behavioural Laboratory, Faisal Lab, and Lecturer in Neurotechnology at Imperial College London.
He set up the Faisal Lab to combine cross-disciplinary computational and experimental approaches to investigate how the brain and its neural circuits make decisions, learns and controls movements. The team’s neuroscientific findings enable the targeted development of novel technology for clinical and research applications using principles from engineering which often immediately translate into direct technological applications.

This year the Faisal Lab was awarded a prestigious Human Frontiers in Science Program Grant and will work in close collaboration with the University of Washington (Seattle) and the Champaliamaud Neuroscience Program (Lisbon) to further research.

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