fNIRS

Brief Overview of (f)NIRS Concept Knowledge In order to identify neural correlates triggered by specific HRI collaborative tasks, the project must resort to technology capable of probing neural activity. Here is where Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) come in. While most approaches typically rely on electroencephalography (EEG), this does not enable enough spatial granularity for activation to be associated with specific brain regions. Moreover, we still require BCI technology to be non-intrusive and non-cumbersome towards collaborative tasks. Thus, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) comes in handy. Unlike EEG, fNIRS technology uses optode transmitters and receivers, to measure light loss resultant from propagation in soft tissue. Different events, such as scattering and absorption, induce variation in the light travelling from emitter to receiver, and thus may be correlated with substance concentration in those tissues. More specifically, oxyhemoglobin Δ[𝑶2𝑯𝒃] and deoxyhemoglobin Δ[𝑯𝑯𝒃] concentrations are estimated over time, via their respective chromophores, in the surface area of the cerebral cortex where a cap with optodes is placed. By assuming tissue to remain unchanged, a modified Lambert-Beer law may be employed for such estimates. The idea behind concentration monitoring comes from the fact that, when neurons are active, they consume more oxygen. This factor leads to a local increase in deoxyhemoglobin and decrease in oxyhemoglobin. Consequentely, a signal can be considered, indicating the site and level of neural activity. To this end, optode transmitter-receiver arrangement and pair quantity dictate the number of channels on which concentrations are being estimated, thus influencing the granularity of  the activation mapping being generated. Pair distance is an impactful factor in fNIRS, as it determines the depth of brain tissue being measured and the proportion of the signal that comes from the scalp versus the brain. Here, distances are kept short (30mm), for cortex monitoring. Finally, optode arrangement should be placed over the cortical area meant to be monitored (e.g. prefrontal cortex or PFC). For each channel available, deoxyhemoglobin and oxyhemoglobin variation over time can be estimated, and thus a corresponding graph may be obtained. This is particularly useful when monitoring for localized activity, where the channel is placed. Evidently, when considering multi-channel arrangements, then a wider topographic mapping may be obtained for cortical activity, considering the localized variations of those concentrations. To learn more about fNIRS and the theory behind this technology, we suggest visiting Artinis’ post and suggested papers on the topic. In CoDRI, this level of cortical activation knowledge can be extremely useful as it pinpoints which area is undergoing more variation, while ergonomic factors of human-robot interaction fluctuate. Thus, correlations between spatial activation and ergonomic variation can be extracted, based on which appropriate feedback can then be generated for robots to adapt their demeanours. All this is possible as fNIRS provides enough temporal and spatial resolution, without hindering user mobility. Unlike techniques which typically explore brain activity in a spatial manner yet restrict the user, such as fMRI, fNIRS caps enable other activities to be performed, while signal is being acquired, thus making it ideal for collaborative robotics tasks. Here is a video of a live measurement, on a subject solving a 5×5 Rubik’s cube, for 2min30sec: https://codri.isr.uc.pt/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/fNIRS_mohammad_compressed.mp4

NEI

European Researcher’s Night Scientific Dissemination On September 26th, Bruno and Gustavo participated in the Coimbra chapter of the European Researchers’ Night, an initiative of the European Commission that offers a glimpse into the fascinating world of science. In this evening, attendees have the opportunity to immerse themselves in scientific projects by participating in games, discussions, experiments, and various other activities. It is also a great opportunity to engage with local researchers and get to know the work being done in the city. Public interest proved to be substantial, across all age buckets and backgrounds, given the constant and diverse stream of people stopping and, more importantly, staying by our table to listen to CoDRI’s frames of action and vision for safer, more sustainable and human-centered industry automation. Below you can find some of the feedback received during this event:

COTEC – Demonstração

Demo at COTEC Summit Scientific Dissemination In the past May 14th, Bruno Ferreira presented a part of CoDRI’s work at the XVIII COTEC Europe Summit, which aimed to bring together business leaders, academia and policy decision makers to discuss how to proceed in the most concrete and agile way towards a new path for the future of European competitiveness. Here, he was able to showcase one of CoDRI’s most recent contributions – EEG-triggered Awareness for a Collaborative Robot. This work was recently accepted for publication in Exp.at 2025, an IEEE sponsored conference which is set to take place in the island of Faial, Portugal, this coming September. Envisioning automated safety procedures, itt proposes the usage of an attention score based on alpha wave activity, obtained via a single-channel EEG BCI, as indicative of human awareness towards robot movement. Here, the robot was set to track the person’s movement during a task, idealizing an industrial collaborative scenario, while they are considered aware. Otherwise, the robot should halt so as to ensure no harm may come to a worker oblivious of their surroundings. The demonstration went perfectly, allowing us to demonstrate how human signalling can indeed be used to modulate cobot behavior, with advantages towards human well-being. It is our hope that more events like this will help us spark interest in robot adaptation through integration of neuronal and psychological data, towards better, more-human like interactions with robotic agents. If you want to find out more, read this work’s detailed post.