UTS-developed Mind Switch technology, which allows people to operate electrical equipment with the blink of an eye, is being showcased at London’s Science Museum.

Professor Ashley Craig, Associate Professor Les Kirkup and Dr Yvonne Tran from the Faculty of Science are in London to demonstrate the Mind Switch as part of the museum’s Brain Awareness Week activities.

Professor Craig said the London invitation was a special honour for the UTS researchers and indicated the international recognition the Mind Switch work has achieved.

The Mind Switch allows people to activate and control electrical devices simply by closing their eyes. The key is a burst of alpha brainwaves emitted as the eyes are closed, which the UTS researchers found could be distinguished from other brain activity and isolated.

The UTS researchers, who are working towards commercialisation of the technology, have recently completed successful trials of the Mind Switch with 10 severely disabled people.

Professor Craig said the latest prototype of the Mind Switch Environmental Control Unit, or ECU, had been 90 per cent reliable in the trials, which were conducted in the homes of people who have suffered quadriplegia through accident or disease.

"We asked participants to use the ECU to control their television: turn it on and off, change channels and adjust the volume," Professor Craig said. "Most could activate the switch in one to three seconds more than 90 per cent of the time."