Command and control interfaces for advanced neuroprosthetic applications

Command and control interfaces permit the intention and situation of the user to influence the operation of the neural prosthesis. The wishes of the user are communicated via command interfaces to the neural prosthesis and the situation of the user by feedback control interfaces. Both these interfaces have been reviewed separately and are discussed in light of the current state of the art and projections for the future. It is apparent that as system functional complexity increases, the need for simpler command interfaces will increase. Such systems will demand more information to function effectively in order not to unreasonably increase user attention overhead. This will increase the need for bioelectric and biomechanical signals in a comprehensible form via elegant feedback control interfaces. Implementing such systems will also increase the computational demand on such neural prostheses.