NEUROTECH LEUVEN: BRIDGING BRAIN & MACHINE

STUDENT IN DE KIJKER

The student teams are the showpieces of the Faculty of Engineering Technology. High-tech, entrepreneurship and innovation merge into a unique product or realisation with which the teams compete with the best in the world. The youngest member is the Neurotech Leuven team. Chairman Anthony Vorias tells the story.

Front, left to right: Faith Johnson, Ghita El Bakkouri, Eveline Wuytens, Izabella Czarnecka and Emilie Bartsoen Back, left to right: Frederic Vanderveken, Jonas Heylen, Arne Staes, Paul Van Tieghem, Ward Van Ginsberg, Anthony Vorias (Chairman), Jonah Van Assche, Samuel Berton, Arno Libert and Sandro Winkel - Teammembers not present: Maarten Schelles, Rochelle Aubrey and Rien Sonck

© Filip Van Loock

Telepathy really exists. It is possible to send brain signals to a computer, a drone, or any other device without physical contact. What is more, you can also use your thoughts to control or direct these devices. How to make this happen is the domain of the new NeuroTech Leuven Team, a group of talented KU Leuven students from various disciplines who are bringing together their knowledge of neuro-technology and -science, advanced electronics, signal analysis and machine learning as well as medicine and psychology in a unique project.

NXT Competition

Chairman Anthony is a master’s student in Nanoscience, Nanotechnology an Nano - engineering at the Faculty of Engineering Sciences. From his study but also from his concern for people with mental problems, he wants to further explore the possibilities of neurotechnology and make them known to young people and the general public.

Anthony does not come onto the ice unprepared. He has already won his spurs in the Product Innovation Projects (PiP) of KU Leuven. With the iGEM team he won silver in the Genetically Engineered Machine Competition in Paris last year. “With NeuroTech Leuven we are going to participate again in such an international competition,” Anthony says. “This time it will be the NeuroTechX Student Club Competition from September 2022 to April 2023. About thirty top teams will participate. The teams are all given the same subject about which they must realise the best project. The participants will receive the required hard- and software and can register for lectures, workshops, and training sessions. The competition itself consists of two parts. In the offline part, each team will show a video or show case of its application. The real competition will take place in the online presentation of the project results.”

Organisational structure

Although the competition does not start until September 2022, Anthony has already gathered a nine-strong team around him to pave the way.

“By the time the competition starts, we want to have developed a solid organisational structure in which roles and tasks are clearly defined,” Anthony says. “This will enable us to be more targeted in our search for the right profiles of future members. It is also good for the continuity of the team. We want the team to continue after April 2023. The Solar Team did not stop after the first World Solar Challenge in 2005”.

“The basic structure is already broadly established,” Anthony continues. “We have Ward and Sandro who take care of financial status and business relations. Emilie plans the in-house events. Frederic, Jonah, and Maarten supervise the projects while I co-ordinate all activities.”

Events

Like the other student teams active within the entrepreneurial incubator Technovation Hub, NeuroTech Leuven will also share its knowledge and expertise with other students and the public. “We do that through hackathons, workshops and talks by experts,” Anthony explains. “STEM activities for young people are also part of this. We participate in events such as the Technovation Hub Innovation Day, the Advanced Engineering Expo, and the job fairs of the faculties of Engineering. In time, we want to make NeuroTech Leuven a real forum for all those who are active in this promising field. The potential to increase the capacities of humanmachine interfaces makes us believe that the next technological revolution will be based on neurotechnology. We want to be prepared for that”.

Yves Persoons

www.ntxl.org