There was an incredible moment to kick off the World Cup on Thursday.
A paraplegic wearing a robotic mind-controlled exoskeleton literally kicked things off by operating his robotic suit with an EEG headset.
The robotic suit is operated by brain signals and is the byproduct of 30 years work and many clinical tests, detailed in more than 200 scientific papers by Brazilian neuroscientist Miguel Nicolelis.
In fact, Nicolelis told AFP, “It’s the first time an exoskeleton has been controlled by brain activity and offered feedback to the patients.”
The man who made the inaugural kick is 29-year-old Juliano Pinto, an ambitious attempt and a beautiful display of the advancements in technology and robotics research since the last World Cup in 2010.
