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US Army To Develop "Thought Helmets"
Hugh Pickens writes "Time Magazine reports on a $4 million US Army contract to begin developing 'thought helmets' to harness silent brain waves for secure communication among troops that the Army hopes will 'lead to direct mental control of military systems by thought alone.' The Army's initial goal is to capture brain waves with software that translates the waves into audible radio messages for other troops in the field. 'It'd be radio without a microphone,' says Dr. Elmar Schmeisser, the Army neuroscientist overseeing the program. 'Because soldiers are already trained to talk in clean, clear and formulaic ways, it would be a very small step to have them think that way.' The key challenge will be to develop software able to pinpoint speech-related brain waves and pick them up with a 128-sensor array that ultimately will be buried inside a helmet. Scientists deny charges that they're messing with soldiers' minds. 'A lot of people interpret wires coming out of the head as some sort of mind reading,' says Dr. Mike D'Zmura. 'But there's no way you can get there from here.' One potential civilian spin-off: a Bluetooth Helmet so people nearby can't hear you when you talk on your cell phone."
US Army Chief of Staff To Develop "Thought"
One problem with this is any electrical activity on the brain detected is then amplified. This makes TEMPEST attacks on the thoughts of the soldier much easier as the attacker already has an amplifier attached to the soldier. Solution? Every US Army soldier needs to wear a tin foil hat!
Wouldn't this take stuff before people have the ability to filter what they say and speak it out loud?
But they MUST think in Russian!!!
Seriously, $4 million is pocket change in the military budget.
Evidently someone has been watching too much Ghost in the Shell...
(All thought, of course)
"Private Jenkins, Cover me!"
"Sir, Yes, Sir!....man, sarge is so cool and he has such a great ass! He can cov-er-me-an-e-time-he-likes, tee-hee!"
"Uhh...private Jenkins?!"
"Uhh uhh yes, sarge?"
"...I think I love you, too"
And then they'd get shot or something. Anyway, the moral of the story is...well...I forget, what were we thinking about, again?
+1 IDisagreeSoHeMustBeATrollOrAnAstroturferOrAShill
They should really look into other ways to deploy something like this. Maybe something that could be injected into a person. Perhaps nanotechnology?
Every soldier could use a little zest now and then.
Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
Must remember to think in Russian when using the USSR version.
"I bless every day that I continue to live, for every day is pure profit."
I can't wait until they release the mind-reading API.
'Because soldiers are already trained to talk in clean, clear and formulaic ways, it would be a very small step to have them think that way.'
Am I the only one who's thinking "danger!danger!" here?
talking is one thing, changing the way you think is more like... brainwashing?
"I was gratified to be able to answer promptly, and I did. I said I didn't know." -- Mark Twain
I don't see the point of thought helmets for the Army, if the Commander-in-Chief is still incapable of coherent thought.
Athletic Scholarships to universities make as much sense as academic scholarships to sports teams.
For "silent" communication I can see morse being communicated that way, but reading words from the brain ? Maybe one can train people to concentrate and clearly form a few specific patterns which can then be recognized afterward and translated to words, but i doubt you could learn and differentiate so many patterns as to have a wordly communication. Furthermore in the midst of fire exchange, I doubt this would be easier to use than a radio.
C. Sagan : A demon haunted world:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345409469/
visit randi.org
... I wonder what the voice would sound like. I mean, the vocal cords and stuff determine what your voice sounds like, so if they read your mind and pipe that through a system it'd probably sound like a robot.
A NYC lawyer blogs. http://www.chuangblog.com/
I thought military intelligence was an oxymoron.
This seems pretty straight forward. If you can use a feedback mechanism, you can learn different mental exercises that stimulate different parts of the brain, and thus generate repeatable signals that can be picked up. Then it's a matter of training and sequencing. It's not reading minds though.
He's not your Commander in Chief much longer, the next one will be capable of thought on his own.
Boffoonery - downloadable Comedy Benefit for Bletchley Park
For "silent" communication I can see morse being communicated that way, but reading words from the brain ? Maybe one can train people to concentrate and clearly form a few specific patterns which can then be recognized afterward and translated to words, but i doubt you could learn and differentiate so many patterns as to have a wordly communication. Furthermore in the midst of fire exchange, I doubt this would be easier to use than a radio.
I don't think adults can easily learn to use their brains in an entirely new way like this. Maybe if you gave a really young child one of these with some kind of visual feedback for them they could develop a more sophisticated way of communicating with it.
Or better yet, maybe deaf kids could use this to talk amongst themselves. It would have to be started very young though, so the brain could develop and strengthen the areas needed. Actually this is now sounding a bit like the plot from The Midwitch Cuckoos.
Time Magazine reports on a $4 million US Army contract to begin developing 'thought helmets [..]
We already have technology for picking up silent brain waves, but it still sounds like $4 million is slightly too cheap for this project.
Also, what happens if a soldier panics and goes beyond reason? Wouldn't that create radio interference?
Full Tilt
Done.
Although it is fascinating to see this published by the US Army, it reflects such activity carried out extensively as surveillance which I've experienced as a target for 7.5 years since 02.2001 thanks to former US Marines Colonel Vine and Lt Harry Bird. They are still at it as of this writing. This is just a limited battlefield adaptation when soldiers are wearing their helmets. Such brain waving monitoring, i.e., son of TEMPEST, actually picks up all thoughts and images accurately and will translate the word thoughts into audible language. I suspect that images are so translated as well since I've gotten accurate descriptions of images I think about as well as language. The US Army also has S2K (Sound-to-Skull) where sound is transferred by means of electromagnetic radiation so that the target can hear someone using it. Since I've been subjected to this, I've been able to hear all that they want me to hear and then some which is an enormous amount enabling me to learn all about this neuroscience application. It is mind control with obedience training through abuse and torture carried out for social engineering. It's used as a surveillance weapon to monitor all the human senses and feedback similar neurological impulses for various reasons: pain, muscle movement, sound, images and surreptitious medication to debilitate and incapacitate. If you suspect that your telephone is tapped, doesn't that change your behaviour? Expect this feedback process to be used on the battlefield too as well as against civilians in the manner it is being used experimentally against me continuously for control purposes. What has hit Time magazine is essentially trivial when compared with what is actually being done. Thanks for noting this article, and I hope everyone gets on this to dig into what is really going on. Don't be put off by anyone who tries to deny this as an aspect of mind reading. It is exactly that and the reality of what is being done is far, far worse that does not require a helmet or sensors to pick up the electromagnetic radiation surrounding the brain. Similarly, every electronic device in a computer can be so monitored and controlled which has been done to my computers for a decade. The human brain is just another computer with its electricity generated by chemical reactions. TEMPEST has come a long way in the past five decades.
I really like the "deaf" idea. We could also try it out on other species; as you suggested, "get em when they're young". We might learn interesting things.
As a battlefield tool, I can't imagine it being of any use to soldiers who haven't used it for years and don't need to think about it. What these military people need for it to work are orphans or clones. Even cheaper, just use robots. Of course, these strategies might be considered inhumane.
It is already possible to move an avatar in 3D only with your "thoughts". The same way locked-in patients can communicate with their environment.
The avatar, for example, is controlled with very simple thoughts like, black cat -> move forward, green tree -> move left....
This will generate characteristic patterns of electrical activation. These are measured outside the SKULL. But, compared to the complex signaling inside the brain, while for example generating speech, this is awfully inaccurate.
Therefore it is, at least for the moment, impossible to have a word for word transmission.
Furthermore the system has to be calibrated on the individual and the characteristic electrical patterns.
Whatever, the soldier will have to train to get used to a set of thoughts, which in turn are translated to commands.
For better transduction, especially bald soldiers are preferable for this job.
As long as there is no application of any current through the electrodes, the persons physiology isn't altered. And so his thinking can't be manipulated.
greetz, kai
Control of complete army units by thought alone... mind reading helmets... using thought directly as a means of communication... I'm surprised this story is not tagged "borg" already. It sounds pretty much like that.
Thought : "Roger, Air Force One. Approach terminal Whisky-one"
Transmit (to Roger) : "Terminate Air Force with Whiskey"
Remember, You are unique...just like everyone else.
I already have a thought helmet. I made it out of tin foil.
And they looked like this.
Unless there's one time pad data in the helmet, the war might come to a tragic halt for the USA when the enemy fills up our heads with porn.
This wired up army is a dumb idea. It's better to give troops the flexibility to matters into their own hands on the battlefield. If you want to have a better US Army, maybe instead of blowing billions on trying to turn platoons into borg, maybe pay sergeants more and jack up their retention rate. Sergeants are the backbone of any army and always will be more, more so than any communications gizmo.
This is my sig.
Ugh. I pay taxes every year in the US. They haven't fixed a big pothole outside my house on the road in years, and yet every year we allocate more and more money for military spending. It's a old argument, i know, i know. But honestly now.....i have just all the more incentive to cheat on my taxes.
WÌÌfÍ--ÍSÌÒÍ...Í...ÌHÌÍfÍÍÍ--ÍÍÍ
Put all objections and concerns aside for a second.
Honestly, isn't stuff like this why we all went into computer science and engineering in the first place? Crazy sci-fi ideas that have little to no practical value in the short (and often long) term.
Don't stop chasing the dream!
So what happens when one thinks about thoughts? I detect serious recursion problems.
But the US army thinks of everything, don't they? That is why they use their brilliance as their main weapon against everyone who doesn't see things the same way.
Dr. Elmar Schmeisser and Dr. Mike D'Zmura?!?
Didn't they learn from Ford Prefect?
I urge you to read this book for an account of the lengths army will go to in researching stuff like this.
-= This is a self-referential sig =-
let's set so double the killer select all.
If DARPA gets this technology then it will be used keep women out of combat.
A means to read women's minds is beyond the possibility of any science!
When can I apply to fly the new Veritech fighter?
of the children!
Firefox (film)
I regret that I only have one mod point to give per post.
so what frequency do i use to control the soldiers, listen in on them, or jam thier signals?
hope their crypto is good.
Reid keeps the swamp brimming
By Examiner Newspapers
Examiner Staff Writer 9/18/08
As the stock market plunged nearly 1,000 points in two days this week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada was preoccupied with protecting billions of dollars worth of earmarks contained in a separate, unpublished committee report that got a one-sentence reference in a giant $612 billion defense bill. Reid engineered the 61-to-32 vote to limit debate on the bill, thus barring consideration of an amendment offered by Sen. Jim DeMint. The South Carolina Republicanâ(TM)s amendment would have deleted the reference to the committee report so that it would have to be considered separately. By leaving the language in the bill, the lawmakers were able to carry out one of their favorite maneuvers: Incorporating committee reports into omnibus bills so they can give billions of tax dollars to their cronies without recorded votes on specific spending measures. This is the same Harry Reid who with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised to "drain the swamp" of Republican corruption if voters would return the Democrats to the majority.
Dennis Miller's remarks on that "ashen pie-hole" are still fresh, more than a year later.
The US needs a feedback loop whereby other states can be told: "someone else, please" regarding their ballots.
Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
What they're missing is that the best soldiers, under tough situations, have a LOT going on in their heads, AND are doing their best to sum up what they want by commands and hand signals.
Training soldiers to think in short thoughts will invariably cross-over into actual thought patterns that will reduce soldiers' creativity, adjustability and preparation for future events.
You can see the effects, now, of how the Army trains vs. how young soldiers actually think when they come out of Basic and AI training - the world is all black and white. From my family's experience, Reserve units are often more flexible in the field and do better at war games because they can think on their feet.
Robotizing our forces' thinking, even unintentionally, is a serious step that they ought to fully consider.
How about some sensor in a glove or on the weapons' grips that would pick up finger pressures and send those out as hand-signals instead? With an on/off momentary switch of some kind, signals would be sent when the soldier wanted them to be, and not when he was merely gripping differently.
Next, let's hope they R&D guys develop complete reality-recreation through implants and neurochemical modulation. That way when civs get killed, there won't be any pesky PTSD. I'm reading the bio of PKDick again right now, " Divine Invasions," and how much more prescient he seems today than 5 yr.s ago.
...The name "Firefox" is taken.
rj
...one of the soldiers gets a tune stuck in his head?
All the rest of the soldiers will hear his mental rendition of "Never gonna give you up" by Rick Astley.
Not a pretty sight. Do we really want to live in a world where you can be MENTALLY Rick-rolled?
I don't think so.
I am open source, and Linux baby!
My late father in law (2004) could have used something like this for speech, ALS effectively cut him off completely for the last month or two of his life.
meh
Hope they don't have MS develop the software.
'Cause how would you like to be on the battlefield and start hearing random Blue Screams of Death?
Quote: 'Because soldiers are already trained to talk in clean, clear and formulaic ways, it would be a very small step to have them think that way.'
There is a difference between TALKING and THINKING. I suspect some rather HEAVY training will have to be involved, else, it could make for hilarious slips of the "ahem" mind/tongue!
Mouth says: Aye Aye SIR!
But Mind Really Thinks: F**k you and the horse you rode in SIR!
But you have to think in Russian for it to work the Thought systems in Atlantis work better.
So many people keep saying or implying Bush is stupid.
If he's smart enough to get reelected, how stupid is he? The election was rigged? If it was, so what, anyone in jail for that? No? So how stupid is he?
If he's smart enough that his current party still has a convincing chance of retaining power, that's even better. Seriously, can you say the odds are < 20%?
And this is despite his party doing all sorts of bad things to the country (and other countries).
So who really are the stupid ones?
Funny how so many people keep thinking they're so smart and the president is so dumb, when the president (and gang) has screwed them so badly and is getting away with it.
Maybe they're in denial and it's just a way of comforting themselves - especially since there's a high chance they're in for a third round.
Professor: Obviously your thoughts are being transmitted on the same frequency.
Woman: They're on my cellphone, too.
Bender: Madam, I believe you're mistaken.
Bender's Thoughts on Cellphone: Wow, that lady's got a huge ass.
Bender: Those could be anyone's thoughts, fatass.
"A lot of people interpret wires coming out of the head as some sort of mind reading," D'Zmura sighs.
They were not clear about where the wires go. If they ARE putting wires in my head, would this make it significantly easier for my enemies to torture/take advantage of me? Then would I have the option as a soldier to deny brain augmentation?
Imagine in MATRIX if they just zapped you onto some deadzone plain without telephones. Worse than death.
The Army dropped the ball on a great opportunity to call this new technology a "thinking cap."
It's a nice Saturday, so I thought I'd share some light reading with everybody; I've uploaded in its entirety a copy of Walter Bowart's Operation Mind Control for anybody who wants to read it. (It's a text-searchable PDF scan of the book. Thanks to whoever scanned it.)
This book was derived largely from papers acquired through the FOIA, and it is quite clear about how advanced the military was in the field of mind-control and mind-reading. (Skip ahead to chapter 18 after you take a moment to read the author's forward.) It was also first published back in 1978. . .
I find that most of the technology is actually terribly simple and straight forward. If it works, it gets developed. It really isn't rocket science. The large portion of Bowart's book is on mind-control through drugs, hypnosis and radio/sonics. Again, very simple concepts but very advanced at the same time; the stuff he talks about makes Joss Whedon's new show, Doll House looks simplistic, and that's writing from the 70's.
-FL
For "silent" communication I can see morse being communicated that way, but reading words from the brain ? Maybe one can train people to concentrate and clearly form a few specific patterns which can then be recognized afterward and translated to words
Yes indeed, if you read the summary, they don't intend to pick up whole speeches from within the brain, only small precise commands. From the summary :
Because soldiers are already trained to talk in clean, clear and formulaic ways, it would be a very small step to have them think that way.
In terms of though-reading this is as close to "reading speech", .bind F12 'Heal,plz!'; " is close to a long IRC chat between non-lolspeak-challenged people in terms of internet textual communication.
- as trained keyword recognition (teach your handsfree to recognise "reject call" command) is close to untrained free-form dictation in the field of voice recognition.
- or as "
It is all based on the fact that soldiers during combat tend to use a small subset of well defined mil-speak keywords (makes sense because a small set of keywords that everyone knows is really handy in a situation where taking the time to say "Sorry, I'm afraid I didn't exactly get what you were saying, could you please clarify your last sentence ?" isn't exactly an option)*.
Given that, teaching them to use a small subset of though-helmet-compatible mental commands won't seem far fetch.
An activation and/or confirmation button (Grendizer-style :-P ), to avoid false positive could help too.
So in fact its not very far from your idea of using a "morse-code like" coded mental command set.
--
For the record full speech won't be that much difficult either, as long as we don't try to pick it up from the brain.
Unlike the psychology and neurology of sentence formation witch is awfully complex, the biomechanics of speech are well understood.
For example, its well used for both speech synthesis software, and speech-specialized low bandwidth codec - in both of these situation speech isn't considered as a generic sound wave, but as a combination of the various resonance mode that a human larynx can generate.
One possible way to get silent speech transmission would be to pick up the motor commands of someone whispering or even voiceless articulating and infere what it would sound like if it was voiced.
The only problem are mainly practical (picking brain signals from the helmet is easier that having to make a complex rig over the soldier's neck and face muscles) and correct recognition (there are a lot of sounds which are articulated the same way but sound different depending on how the speaker voices them - voiced/unvoiced consonants and such. If the silent speak is silent indeed, the voicing information will be missing)
---
*: And here in Switzerland it's even worse as there are 4 official spoken language, of which the main one (German) is actually a grouped bunch of not exactly mutually intelligible dialects. Just imagine the mess. Thankfully, we never had to go to war for more than a century.
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
'Because soldiers are already trained to talk in clean, clear and formulaic ways, it would be a very small step to have them think that way.' Has this guy talked to one of us lately? Or listened to a Lieutenant on the radio? "...Clean, clear, and formulaic..." do NOT apply to our thought processes, and never will. I call shenanigans on the whole concept.
Never disregard the raw power inherent to stupidity... they call it "dumb luck" for a reason...
Obviously they stole the idea from Dr. Dr. Emmett Brown
You can't handle the truth.
How many of us have felt isolated when our cell phone breaks? Almost like having a limb amputated.
How much more powerful will the sense of isolation and incompleteness be (for the soldier) if the stream of psychic chatter ceases? Say, if the apparatus gets damaged or fails.
The potential consequences are particularly frightening if this were to happen in the heat of a firefight.
Psych evals and screening will have to be much more thorough to prevent the enlistment of soldiers prone to getting psychic-cabin-fever.
An internal system operation returned the error "The operation completed successfully.".
"Max, put on the Helmet of Silence and get out there!"
You misunderstand the functionality. The device interprets the activity in the speech center of the brain, and translates it into speech. The only 'training' you need is the ability to speak. This isn't some sort of obtuse mindspeak.
It's similar to other research that noted minuscule vibrations in people's vocal chords while they type, vibrations that correspond to the words they were typing.
"I need air support at killer delete select all"
mod me funny
I think.
"Not an actor, but he plays one on TV."
I think.
Liar.
Its also called a tinfoil hat.
Very useful in a thought shower.
For real market penetration they need to develop the range to include Thought Hoodies, the Thought Balaclava, the Thought Fedora, the Thought Flat Cap and the Thought Umbrella.
Bonus points for diversifying into Thought Chicken Fillets. That may have a big market amongst 'dumb blondes'.
"Three eyes are better than one" -- Lieutenant Columbo
I am confused : are those guys in the army or not ? Brain-laundering is what the army is for, no ?
Is his sidearm bigger than mine?
Boot camp & AIT are for scrubbing those cerebellums till they shine like a drill sergeant's boots. Then they join the real Army.
Have you been touched by his noodly appendage?
Researchers have already done this sort of thing with monkeys and quadriplegics. Contrary to what you might think, when something is wired up to our brain, controlling it actually comes quite naturally. In fact, once we get past the moral dilemma of being assimilated, our integration with the Borg should go quite smoothly.
Somebody's sucking hard on the research teat. Anyone who knows "brain waves" worth a damn knows that different people have entirely different EEG profiles in general, in dynamic response and in contextual/environmental response. Trying to find an EEG response consistent enough to be used in a device that can be slapped on any head (GIs don't have time to train their brain helmets every morning) is going to suck up all US$4M and then some and still have its empty hand out.
Why all this golly gee whiz hand waving when subvocalization http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subvocalization is nearly as reliable as spoken word and requires no new tech? Because somebody's sucking hard at the research teat.
"I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid." -- Bishop 341-B
Imagine the uses of this if combined with interrogation and lie detector.. Hell imagine if the wife or GF could get access to of on of these to "discuss" the relationship. Where you looking at that woman at the gas station ? .. in many cases you'd be exonerated, in some cases busted.. probably a lot of thoughts like "jeezus, not again, god I hate this crap".
waiting for ad.doubleclick.net
When I read the title and that "direct mental control of military..." I was sure this was a new way to ensure soldiers did exactly as told..
lets get detective parkman to help out with it
What happens when these helmets are rootkitted, and they start playing pop-up ads directly into the soldiers' brains while idle?
Hmmm....
3. Profit!!!
-David
The adult human brain is more than capable of adapting to new peripherals. The idea that children are better at learning than adults is no longer supported by science. Children just happen to be bombarded by new ideas at all times.
I think the idea of this peripheral is that the subject would have a few commands that he would learn how to actively control. The number would grow over time - with practice. These commands could then be sent without any verbal cues, allowing for completely covert operation.
In the end, I fail to see how this is all that useful. We already have hidden cameras for intelligence gathering. For actual covert operations, hand signals seem to work pretty well.
"Time Magazine reports on a $4 million US Army contract to begin developing 'thought helmets' to harness silent brain waves for secure communication among troops that the Army hopes will 'lead to direct mental control of military systems by thought alone, as well as consolidate control of the troops themselves."
So what you do is get a civilian version to use as a game controller. Then by the time you draft them, they're already trained.
I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
What is army training if not reprogramming the brain? How does that differ from making an consent adult to unquestionable to follow any order from an superior? How does that differ from reprogramming the mind of not thinking enemy as a human being that has any value? You'd be surprised to find out what kind of power military training can exert on an individual.
That would be very fitting for the military.
The adult human brain is more than capable of adapting to new peripherals. The idea that children are better at learning than adults is no longer supported by science. Children just happen to be bombarded by new ideas at all times.
I don't think that's right. A child can sustain pretty massive brain damage, like removing a hemisphere for example, and make a pretty good recovery, recruiting other brain areas to compensate for the lost parts. An adult can't do that. It is true that adults can learn and adapt their brains throughout life, but children up to the age of about 10 are infinitely better at it.
"I don't think adults can easily learn to use their brains in an entirely new way like this"
So the army is in the clear here.
What I don't get is, if they want silent communication, we already have that technology. People with throat cancer and vocal cord damage talk through those weird robotic boxes they place on their throats. Just make the sound output get sent to everyone's headphones instead of broadcast through a speaker.
They are already doing this, the prototype could do simple left, right, forward, back and jump last I saw.
"Now you know, and knowing is half the battle!"
"Pink enemy tank at 11, pink enemy tank at 11.
For the last time soldier, switch off your helmet before sleeping or drinking!
'Because soldiers are already trained to talk in clean, clear and formulaic ways, it would be a very small step to have them think that way.'
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
It's been a long time since I had as good a laugh as when I read that statement.
Reading code is like reading the dictionary - you have to read half of it before you can go back and understand it.
The idea of my helmet getting feedback and frying my brain scares the hell out of me or, maybe the feedback will awaken the unused parts of our brains and we shall evolve into beings of pure energy where upon which time we'll be stuck into batteries and used to power some lonely woman's vibrator. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing? On another note if I start to hum a tune in my head would I be sued by the RIAA?
I bet she gives great Helmet.
If you could reason with religious people, there would be no religious people
Am I the only person who thinks maybe the army isn't stupid enough to have these on 100% of the time? You don't need to retrain every one of a soldier's thoughts to be clear and concise, just verbal thoughts. Or worry about every little thought being passed along if the radio's had some sort of trigger to whether they send sound or not. You know, like a real radio? I get a lot of people in here are being funny, but a lot seem as though they aren't...
My squad talks entirely in formal military jargon:
"Shit."
"Fuck."
"Mother fuck!"
"Fuck."
"Fuck that shit."
"Fuckin A."
"Fuck that mother fucking bitch."
"I heard that."
"I'm tellin ya."
"Fuckin A."
"Roger out."
There have been recent articles about technolgy for helping those unable to move control a mouse cursor or have a computer vocalize. An electrode planted in the brain has had some success in these experiments.
Take a look at what's being called "Neurofeedback" sometime. It's essentially a therapy technique that operantly conditions brain waves. It works on adults and children, and is used to treat ADHD, among other disorders.
I think this is going to interfere with the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy.
*Damn he looks good in those tight camo-pants.*
These military contractors are so imaginative. And really, don't these periodic reports of their whimsical ideas make the billions of dollars we spend worthwhile?
Thought Helmets, or communication without voice/microphone has been done very conceptually, and actually quite thoughtfully in the Metal Gear (Solid) series. Hasn't anyone noticed?
In MGS they uses Nanomachines to communicate with each other on a certain frequency, not using voice nor microphone. This is just several large steps ahead of the "Thought Helmet" idea. Even though it's a video game that developed such an idea, who's to say it won't be possible?
I feel like whomever approved this needs to take Linguistics 101. Or maybe an artificial intelligence course. They really think those electrical signals will be intelligible as speech if they just run them through the correct hardware/software?
Geeks like to think that they can ignore politics, you can leave politics alone, but politics won't leave you alone.-rms
A. It's not going to work well enough to handle something as delicate as military operations without ludicrous risks.
B. What it will be able to do, will require stupendous costs in training and equipment, with little or no practical gain.
C. It's almost taboo to say it maybe, but isn't this just plainly and nauseatingly hideous? To me, for one, it is.
D. The only thing behind all this is someone trying to sell something. Successfully, apparently. Yuck.
'Because soldiers are already trained to talk in clean, clear and formulaic ways, it would be a very small step to have them think that way.'
He's obviously never been in combat before.
Proverbs 21:19
I can't believe none has mentioned Firefox yet!
The thought of thought helmets seems a bit scarry to me. I'm not one to give into the wacky conspiracy theorys but... I feel a bad Star Trek eppisode comming on. "We are the Borg. Lower you defenses and disarm you weapons. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to serve as us. You will be assimilated, resistence is futile." I now return you to your regularly scheduled self induced psychosis.