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Next X-Prize — $10M For a Brain-Computer Interface

Posted by timothy on from the does-it-come-in-small dept.

The first X-Prize was about reaching space. Now, reader destinyland writes "This time it's inner space, as Peter Diamandis holds a workshop at MIT discussing a $10 million X-Prize for building a brain-computer interface. This article includes video of Ray Kurzweil's 36-minute presentation, 'Merging the Human Brain with Its Creations,' and MIT synthetic neuroscientist Ed Boyden also made a presentation, followed by discussion groups about Input/Output, Control, Sensory, and Learning. Besides the ability to communicate by thought, the article argues, a Brain-Computer Interface X Prize 'will reward nothing less than a team that provides vision to the blind, new bodies to disabled people, and perhaps even a geographical 'sixth sense' akin to a GPS iPhone app in the brain.'"

8 of 175 comments (clear)

  1. I've got that right now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It's called my hands on the keyboard.

    ok, where's my 10mil

  2. This will be one of the shorter X-Prize contests by SlappyBastard · · Score: 5, Interesting

    My understanding -- as a complete outsider to the field -- is that a lot of the elements are already there.

    --
    I scream. You scream. I assume that means we're both acquainted with the problem. We proceed.
  3. Virtual telekinesis and telepathy by TheLink · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Yay for virtual telekinesis, telepathy, auxiliary video in and digital "videographic" memory.

    Except that DRM and restrictive Copyright laws will probably cripple it...

    --
    1. Re:Virtual telekinesis and telepathy by maxwell+demon · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Don't worry. You'll only get such messages in the beginning. As technology advances, you'll simply forget that you've ever seen it (which has the additional advantage for them that you might go again to see it "the first time").

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
  4. communicate from dreams by trybywrench · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I want a way to communicate with the outside world from within a dream. If you could get lucid dreaming perfected you could get a day's work in while your physical body is resting. Then when you're awake you have the day off. ...of course i'm sure this will just devolve into working during the day and when you're asleep too heh.

    --
    I came to the datacenter drunk with a fake ID, don't you want to be just like me?
    1. Re:communicate from dreams by thesandtiger · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Actually, there's something to this, though not necessarily from dreaming.

      I often find that in the 9-10 minutes between my alarm going off the first time and after I've hit the snooze button waiting for the alarm to go off again, I spend what feels like hours thinking about things. My brain slows down again when I have to deal with physical stimulus.

      So, if I could have my brain connected into a body/device that could work at the speed of my thoughts rather than the speed of my meat self, that would likely make me more productive.

      --
      Since I can't tell them apart, I treat all ACs as the same person.
  5. Re:This will be one of the shorter X-Prize contest by Mashdar · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I have a small bit of experience in this field (having attended lab meetings for a University group partnered with the lab of Duke's Dr. Miguel Nicolelis).

    I frankly have to say that the resolution in non-surgical methods is just not there, and is not promising. Surgical methods, on the other hand, are fairly invasive, and have yet to yield long-term success. And by success, I mean prediction of a single motor event, ie a mouse pushing a lever. Implants tend to degrade in signal quality over time.

    Given that we cannot yet accurately predict simple motor events (which should have very easy-to-identify motor cortex manifestations), the idea that we are anywhere near interacting with conscious thought (which we still have no concept of the physical manifestation of which), is wrong. To put it in CS terms: Our data path is lossy and degrades with time. We have no idea what format the data is in, or even the data structures involved. We can tell that there is traffic on the network, but little else.

  6. Re:This will be one of the shorter X-Prize contest by isomer1 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I work in an optical imaging lab doing whole animal and human brain imaging studies. As you've mentioned two key points should be stressed for those outside the field.

    (1) The project is laughably underfunded. Think more on the order of hundreds of millions of dollars plus for these types of projects to make it through the full FDA approval process. Human trials are phenomenally expensive, to the point where whole established companies can be driven to bankruptcy through the process (ART in Canada comes to mind).

    (2) Many of the smaller pieces HAVE already been invented. By many different groups scattered around the globe. It will take some sort of insane IP wizardry to combine all of these patents along with the additional research required to meet the specific aims of the challenge.