Dr. Florin Popescu

Engineer and brain researcher at the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Architecture and Software Technology FIRST

There, as a postdoc, he's doing research on theoretical questions about machine learning.

Seen very practically, his work might one day help people who are paralysed from the neck down, because of a disease for example. These so-called Tetraplegics have no voluntary control below the neck level. Which means that outside of speech, eye movements and their normal brain activity, there would be no way for them to control a prosthesis, even if they had one.

Together with his team, Florin Popescu is developing a solution for them: an interface between a brain and a computer. When the patients think about moving their hand, electrodes detect the brain signals and send them to a computer. And the computer controls a robot which enables the patients to move again and to manipulate objects.

For his work, Florin Popescu has received the Marie Curie Fellowship awarded by the European Union.

Read and watch the interview at Deutsche Welle TV.

Source: DW-TV EUROPA: Tomorrow Today