For Breanna Olson, the chance to dance again came through a headset and a projected avatar.
Olson, who has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, performed in Amsterdam through a mixed reality avatar powered by brain interface technology. The performance was part of “Waves of Will,” a project by Dentsu Lab, a subsidiary of Dentsu, developed with data tech firm NTT.
The system uses an electroencephalogram headset to capture Olson’s brain activity and translate certain electrical signals into dance moves. Olson imagines how she would carry out a movement, and the interface sends that through computer instructions to a projected avatar, which performs the motion.
The avatar reflected movement qualities described as “tense or free, timid or morose,” drawing on Olson’s years of training before ALS confined her to a wheelchair.
“I never dreamed that I would be able to dance on stage again,” Olson told the BBC. “It was just a beautiful and memorable moment I will remember for the rest of my life.”
ALS is the most common form of motor neuron disease. It affects the nerves, brain, and spinal cord, weakening and stiffening them over time and can lead to difficulty talking, breathing and swallowing. There is no known cure and the disease is fatal.
Olson told the BBC the system requires “extreme focus and concentration” to imagine the precise details of a movement for the avatar. She said the project did what it set out to do by giving personal expression back to someone like her who had lost that freedom.
In December, Olson and her avatar danced on stage at the OBA Theater in Amsterdam in a “Waves of Will” performance that Dentsu Lab called the first of its kind anywhere in the world.
