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Non-Invasive Computer Control Through Brainwaves
mikael writes "An article on the BBC website is reporting that U.S. scientists have managed to develop a 'thinking cap' which allows a computer to receive commands from the electrical activity of a person's brain alone. Comprised of 64 electrodes, this cap allowed two users to control a cursor through pure thought alone, rather than through eye movements or other physical gestures." Unlike some previous efforts, this one doesn't require anything to be implanted in your brain.
The end of left handed surfing!
Saw the headline and thought "Non-Invasive Brain Control Through Computers". I need a new tinfoil hat.
Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
could this be the first actual useful tinfoil hat?
I for one will be waiting for the 128-electrode technology to come out so I can think faster.
TT
So what exactly goes through the person's mind when they are moving the cursor. Do they just think "Left" and "Right" etc. Or do they simply have to look in the direction they want the cursor to go? It'd be interesting to try it out. It would bring me one step closer to utilizing the power of the force.
Because invasive would be that long spike jammed into the back of your cranium in the Matrix.
-Teiresias
.. now get cracking on the bi-directional interface. I need my legion of computer-controlled human drones to do my evil bidding!
Robots and sharks with lasers on their heads can't do everything, you know.
It is not outside the realm of possibility, however, as Carl Sagan was fond of saying "Extrodinary claims require extraordinary evidence." Those who claim to have extra sensory perception (ESP) have consistently failed to substatiate those claims when scrutinized with truly scientific methods.
It's a hell of a lot more difficult to believe.
Putting electrodes right next to the brain and using computational power to detect the VERY faint electrical signals within the brain is worlds and worlds apart from someone being able to pick up these electrical signals from the span of -- let's say two feet away to be fair -- THROUGH THE AIR and having it penetrate their skull, and then being able to interpret these electrical signals into meaningful thoughts. Keep in mind that since every mind is different, the electrical signals in one brain that signify a certain thought -- let's say something simple such as "I like cheese." can be fairly different from one person to the next because of the way the synapses are linked and pulse their electrochemical signals to make up said thought. I consider this to be an even greater obstacle than the electrical signals from the brain going through the air. The electrical signals to move a cursor are so much simpler than the simplest of thoughts (I like cheese).
You are correct, which means that to be in any way feasible for the average user it needs to be quick and accurate. There's a HCI technique called Fitt's law which measures the amount of movement required to perform actions with an interface, the lower the number the better and you could conclude that high numbers lead to RSI et al.
So something that removed the need to make many fine grained movement, which we are good at but maybe shouldn't do to the excess that computers require, would be a good thing
"Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door." - Emily Dickinson
Does it move left when you think of Kerry, and right when you think of Bush?
Have you read my blog lately?
At the WorldExpo 2000 in Hannover/Germany, the Swedish booth showed something similar. Two contestants were wearing tin foil hats that measured their brain activity. The higher the brain activity, the lower the score, so the goal was to be more relaxed than the opponent.
The great thing was that the most ambitious people had no chance, because their brain was too active in wanting the victory. Pretty cool, watching two guys relaxing the hell out of each other.
Signature deleted by lameness filter.
The work is pretty neat. They put a sock thing on your head and measure your brainwaves. Apparantly not everyone can be trained to use the system. There was a long screening process where they looked for people with brain patterns that they could read. I signed up for the screening but I was never called; I guess they got all the volunteers they needed. My friend went in for the screening; they make you wear the reader thing on your head while you concentrate on a dot moving through a very simple maze. Evenutally you get to try to control the dot; that's as far as my friend reached. I know that eventually they move you up to an actual "Armitron" toy that they wired up to the monitors. It is very cool research.
This stuff isn't geared to replacing your keyboard and mouse. The hook is the promise of developing the technology for better artificial limbs; but think about it. If a disabled person can control their own artificial arm with brainwaves; why not a big crane? Why not a crane on a battleship or out in orbit?
Getting electrical signals to OR from the brain through an intact skull is going to be a lossy process. In the case of getting signals out, this is apparently manageable. But as for getting signals IN, it's not going to work -- this way at least. This doesn't rule out some much more precise (and much more advanced) tech in the future, but this isn't going to work for making zombies.
Besides, is drilling a hole in the head of your zombie really THAT bad?
Mal-2
How is the Riemann zeta function like Trump rallies? Both have an endless number of trivial zeros.
Yes you are the only person and this ain't paranormal research
I'll come clean and say that I spent 4 enjoyable years studying "energy waves" from the brain, also known as EEGs (Electroencephalograph).
A MSc in Epileptology and a PhD in Clinical Neurophysiology later, my considered opionion is that there is a world of difference between "monitoring" activity in the brain and actually making sense of it. EEGs, MEGs and FMRIs can give you a world of data but the specifics you can attach to this are very limited. Even in epileptology, where EEGs have been used for over a hundred years (since 1897), the clinical power of EEGs is far less than a lay person could imagine.
To receive "useful" signals of peoples thoughts, there would have to be a series of breakthroughs in dipole modelling, brain function mapping, and a whole host of other technologies. Otherwise you are restricted to the gross/obvious signals such as alpha, beta and delta rhythms
Another point against pychic receptivity is that the receiving brain is also giving off its own signals at a far greater amplitude than the "transmitting" one; the equivalent of listening to someone whisper a foriegn language at the end of a football field in a howling gale while you bellow what ever is on your mind.