Jacob Sacks, a biomedical engineering senior, participated in a 10-week research experience for undergraduates at the University of Pennsylvania through the Summer Undergraduate Fellowship in Sensor Technologies (SUNFEST) program.
Jacob Sacks
Jacob Sacks, a biomedical engineering senior, participated in a 10-week research experience for undergraduates at the University of Pennsylvania through the Summer Undergraduate Fellowship in Sensor Technologies (SUNFEST) program.
Sacks attended a symposium where he showcased his research and won an award for best research in the SUNFEST program for his project titled: "A wireless, real-time embedded system for closed-loop myoelectric control of sedated primates."
The project involves brain-computer interface technology that establishes a link between the nervous system and external hardware. This technology is used in rehabilitation engineering and novel human-machine interaction. Current commercial systems are limited in their degrees of freedom for control and are incapable of bidirectional communication with the nervous system. Sacks' project presents a microcontroller-based wireless brain computer interface system that is more sensitive, recognizes simple hand gestures as an input, and produces a corresponding output signal.
SUNFEST is open to rising students who are studying engineering and physical sciences. The program exposes students to real, in-depth research in the area of sensor technology and motivates them to go to graduate school. The program is sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the Center for Sensor Technologies at the University of Pennsylvania.
