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Typing By Brain Arrives: No Surgery Necessary (wired.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the that's-using-your-head dept.

mirandakatz writes: 2017 has been a coming-out year of sorts for the brain-machine interface. But the main barrier to adoption is the potentially invasive nature of a BMI: Not many people are going to want to get surgery to have a chip implanted in their brains. A New York company may have found a solution to that. It's created a BMI that works just by an armband -- and it works now, not in some far-off future.
Steven Levy describes a recent demo by the CEO of CTRL-Labs: After [typing] a few lines of text, he pushes the keyboard away... He resumes typing. Only this time he is typing on...nothing. Just the flat tabletop. Yet the result is the same: The words he taps out appear on the monitor... The text on the screen is being generated not by his fingertips, but rather by the signals his brain is sending to his fingers. The armband is intercepting those signals, interpreting them correctly, and relaying the output to the computer, just as a keyboard would have...

CTRL-Labs, which comes with both tech bona fides and an all-star neuroscience advisory board, bypasses the incredibly complicated tangle of connections inside the cranium and dispenses with the necessity of breaking the skin or the skull to insert a chip -- the Big Ask of BMI. Instead, the company is concentrating on the rich set of signals controlling movement that travel through the spinal column, which is the nervous system's low-hanging fruit. Reardon and his colleagues at CTRL-Labs are using these signals as a powerful API between all of our machines and the brain itself.

93 comments

  1. Tourette Typers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So people will start looking like Tourette sufferers?

  2. What? No AssBurgers? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Must have since it's most wanted. Not only filling, but it tastes good.

  3. 12341234qwertqwertqwert by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    OOps I was jerking off. Sorry.

    1. Re:12341234qwertqwertqwert by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well now everyone knows I don't have sex with women. Damn I shouldn't have posted that earlier one.

    2. Re: 12341234qwertqwertqwert by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Judging by the comments here typing by brain will never work. Even with a keyboard.

    3. Re: 12341234qwertqwertqwert by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I fart into bags using an elaborate aid device.

    4. Re: 12341234qwertqwertqwert by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      IN SOVIET RUSSIA, bags far into YOU!

    5. Re: 12341234qwertqwertqwert by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How far?

  4. Misleading title by Ken_g6 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    That's not typing by brain. That's typing by muscles. It won't work for paralyzed people like Stephen Hawking.

    --
    (T>t && O(n)--) == sqrt(666)
    1. Re:Misleading title by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But it helps people who have lost their hands or have difficulty moving their fingers due to arthritis.

    2. Re:Misleading title by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh no its useless!

      ORRR there's a ton of useful shit here. But hey, you got a solid criticism in, so gooood for yoooooou.

    3. Re:Misleading title by fazig · · Score: 1

      Sure it may help a lot of people, but it's not certainly not a brain-machine-interface. It's also not a novelty as there were already consumer products on the market that essentially used the same technology, like the OCZ Neural Impulse Actuator, which had people make faces (muscle movement) to translate into computer inputs. But it certainly appears like this technology has come a long way since then.

    4. Re: Misleading title by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd be surprised if the accuracy were anything to, er, 'write' home about, either. Very neat trick, but that's all.

    5. Re: Misleading title by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      OP didn't suggest that It's completely useless, only that it's usual Slashdot editors parroting overexaggerated PR marketing that is so endemic to the tech world. It's impressive, but also more mundane than it's marketed as.

    6. Re:Misleading title by Kjella · · Score: 3, Insightful

      That's not typing by brain. That's typing by muscles. It won't work for paralyzed people like Stephen Hawking.

      Why not? I would think that even if my hand was paralyzed or amputated I could imagine typing and the brain would send the signals, it just wouldn't arrive at the muscles. I suppose if you've been that way since birth it might be different, but I'm not so certain. I mean even if it's not working you'd think the brain is still wired to try. Don't some advanced prosthetics work like that, they're not just mechanical but they actually read the nerve impulses to recognize what you're trying to do. If you could pair this up with a VR/AR headset maybe you could learn to use virtual hands.

      The downside is of course that there's no physical truth to compare to, but if I could see the computer's interpretation of it we could work on that, like this is me counting on my fingers one-two-three-four-five, this is me bending my index finger forward, this is me curling my index finger, this is me bending it sideways, this me doing V for victory, a fist, giving you the finger, the horns, the Spock greeting, the okay sign etc. and then I could virtually type on a virtual keyboard. It could go a helluva lot faster than eye tracking.

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    7. Re: Misleading title by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Not necessarily. Without the biofeedback from actually moving your fingers you might have difficulty generating the right signals consistently.

      If this thing REALLY worked as advertised, then they could already be hooking this up to a prosthetic robitic hand and using it to move the fingers. It has some promise, but it's still mostly a novelty research item.

    8. Re: Misleading title by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And those cat ears that react to your mood.
      They also come with some software to control a mouse.

      You can game with armbands and headbands now! Next gen VR controllers!

    9. Re:Misleading title by vux984 · · Score: 2

      Why not? I would think that even if my hand was paralyzed or amputated I could imagine typing and the brain would send the signals, it just wouldn't arrive at the muscles

      I can 'imagine typing' and that's not the same thing as 'typing'. Can you really 'type' without a hand to type with? Maybe yes? Maybe no. I don't know. I know there are cases where you are injured and you *are* trying to move your hand it it doesn't move, and those cases this should work, but after you've been injured for a while (years) can you still even send the signals to move your hand or whatever, or do you forget how?

      I can also say that I need a keyboard to type on. I need the feedback. The home key ridges, the guides the physical buttons make. The feedback from the keys. Typing, for me at least, is not a one way stream from brain to fingers, it is a two way stream where feedback from my finger tips results in constant tiny positional corrections, ensuring that i can maintain speed and accuracy.

    10. Re:Misleading title by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If they can decode individual movements, then presumably they could pick the signal out from others that cannot be recognized. If they could get the signal from the brain before it has to pass through the damaged / dead nerves, it would definitely help the paralyzed / disabled. You could even hook up a exoskeleton to perform the motion sent by the brain or build an external bypass.

      If you could pair this up with a VR/AR headset maybe you could learn to use virtual hands.

      It gets better than that. If they can replicate this with legs and feet, then they've solved the mobility / usable space problem that's been plaguing VR since it's inception. Even more so if they can come up with some way to prevent the signal from the brain from reaching the limbs in question without damaging anything.

      People would finally be able to sit / lie down and enjoy a nice full dive in a truly expansive environment. No teleporting needed. That alone would push VR's adoption rate through the roof. It could be a total game changer.

      This is some good news.

    11. Re:Misleading title by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The flight helmet for the F-35 uses this type of interface but it must be trained for each specific pilot. Fire control and the ability to change the cockpit display configuration are using this type of interface. Coupled with the "fire the missile where you look" technology that Apache Attack Helicopters it allows one person to basically operate one of the worlds most sophisticated computer systems while flying at mach 2+.

    12. Re: Misleading title by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah. This smells like Wired magazine hype. The demo seemed canned. Did the journalist get to try it out? No? Why the hell not?

    13. Re: Misleading title by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Only the appiest brain appy app can type, not Luddite keyboards and muscles.

      Apps!

    14. Re:Misleading title by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hmm, it may be good for victims of frostbite or for butchers who tried to save on chainmail gloves, but not much use for anyone else, unless they can make it work with a neck collar.

    15. Re:Misleading title by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I mean, in the article it says that they are detecting "motor neurons". The article could be wrong, but if accurate, it would help people who have problems with muscles, missing muscles, or missing appendages. It still would probably NOT help Stephen Hawking, or any ALS sufferers, as they have a problem with their motor neurons.

    16. Re:Misleading title by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      There's already prosthetics that work like this. Attempting to move the limb, even though it no longer exists does still generate the appropriate nerve signals. However, the nervous system uses a lot of trained feedback loops to provide accurate, consistent movements. Feedback from the muscles doesn't come back, so precision is severely impacted.

      This demonstration won't show that, because he still has his hands. Try it with someone with a trans-radial (mid-forearm) amputation or even a wrist amputation (where the muscles for typing still exist) and watch it fail.

    17. Re:Misleading title by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2

      Paralysis is usually due to the signals not getting to the muscles for some reason, like a broken wire. Obviously if that is the case then putting the sensor on the muscle isn't going to work, you need to attach it at the brain end. Unfortunately the brain is rather complex and has a large amount of I/O, so it's much harder to do it that way.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    18. Re:Misleading title by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If the signal is being read on peripheral nerves that innervate the muscles, the user would need to have a healthy set of alpha motor neurons in the spinal cord (the neurons that receive commands from the brain and actually cause the muscles to contract). Stephen Hawkings would not be able to use this because ALS destroys these neurons (which is why he can't move). A partial amputee might be be able to use this depending on the nature of the injury, and whether it resulted in damage to these neurons (the injury doesn't have to impinge on the spinal cord, sometimes just cutting the axons is enough to cause the cell to die, or at least for the axon to whether away which has the same effect in this case).

      If you want to really just imagine typing, you need something that reads the signals from the neurons in your brain directly. Which is, as you can imagine, much more difficult to implement.

    19. Re:Misleading title by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Why not? I would think that even if my hand was paralyzed or amputated I could

      If your hand was amputated, sure. If it was paralyzed, unlikely. They are measuring the signals down close to the appendages. If they got there in the first place you're unlikely to be paralised.

      If this worked on the source (brain), or on the spine then it may be different. But the people who need this most won't benefit from this design.

    20. Re:Misleading title by Ihlosi · · Score: 1
      If the signal is being read on peripheral nerves that innervate the muscles,

      If they are doing an EMG, they are reading muscle electrical activity, not nerve electrical activity. So besides requiring a working nervous system, it also requires muscles that work to some degree.

    21. Re:Misleading title by SandWyrm · · Score: 1

      The F-35 isn't capable of mach 2+. It can't even super-cruise.

      In fact there's a heck of a lot the F-35 still can't do, and the effects of vibrations on the (custom for each pilot) helmet's internal display is known to be a major ongoing development problem.

    22. Re:Misleading title by KingBenny · · Score: 1

      i read this on wired or nautlius last weeks news ... well , given the fact that the dude is a neuroscientist "on the side" how hard could it be to make an interface react to eye movements instead ? saint Hawking can move his eyes, right ? maybe not as versatile at first but a twitch is a twitch to the brain (is what my layman crank arse assumes) so to these IQ-kardashev lvl 3 guys that shouldnt be much of a hassle, more like a challenge :D

      --
      Free speech was meant to be free for all... how can anyone grow up in a nanny state ?
  5. Not even a video... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This sounds WAY too fantastic to be true. The lack of a video verifies it to me. IF this had be REAL, it would be the biggest news ever and there would be a VIDEO showing this work as expected.

    1. Re:Not even a video... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This sounds WAY too fantastic to be true. The lack of a video verifies it to me. IF this had be REAL, it would be the biggest news ever and there would be a VIDEO showing this work as expected.

      I sort of agree, but there was a video of someone playing a few second of asteroids with his hands flat, though twitching, on the table. I'd rather see some typing, cause asteroids only needs 4 or 5 keys (left, right, forward, shoot, maybe backwards/warp/whatever), repeat rates don't matter for asteroids but would have a significant effect on typing, and they can ignore all the other signals/keys/fingers, assuming that actually happened even (I could play back a video of asteroids on my phone and twitch my hands next to it and say I made it do that; hopefully they aren't that disingenuous, but some display of what was going on would help a lot).

  6. DVORAK by mentil · · Score: 0

    Hope he doesn't use DVORAK or AZERTY. Or pick-and-peck. This type of thing will be quickly rendered obsolete/redundant with overlaid interfaces rendered on an AR device, with a LeapMotion type solution. Could be useful for those with disfigured hands trying to type, though.

    --
    Corruption is convincing someone that the selfless ideal is the same as their selfish ideal.
    1. Re: DVORAK by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I highly doubt it. Seeing how horribly people type on a touchscreen causes me to think that some type of tactile feedback is still a necessity, by and large. If the day ever comes when we have a true holodeck type experience with solid objects, maybe. This is part of the reason so much tech fails - the sci-fi fantasy, no matter how probable it may be *eventually*, has to take into consideration current day possibility and pragmatism. Keep dreaming, but not to the point where reality is no longer a consideration. It will kick your ass every time.

    2. Re:DVORAK by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can change your keymapping in software, I don't see why this would be any different. Your keyboard doesn't say "he pressed B", it has a keycode for that key that it transmits.

  7. 1) Not by brain 2) Already done by guruevi · · Score: 1

    This is merely interpreting the muscles/nerve signals, not the brain signals - it's not converting concepts. If it were a brain interface, you would only have to think about doing the typing (already done in the lab) and/or think about the words/sentences (quite a bit harder problem).

    This is just a glorified laser keyboard. Remember those: http://www.ctxtechnologies.com... - $55 on Amazon.

    --
    Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
    1. Re:1) Not by brain 2) Already done by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      This is merely interpreting the muscles/nerve signals, not the brain signals...

      Excuse me, but your brain consists entirely of nerves.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    2. Re:1) Not by brain 2) Already done by s_p_oneil · · Score: 1

      While I agree it's not as good as a "real" BMI, it's better than the laser keyboard in a few ways:

      1) It would work with a prosthetic limb if your hand had to be amputated. Allow these signals to control it, and even if your brain doesn't send it the right signals initially, the human brain is actually really good at adapting to changes like that.

      2) TFA: "You could be blasting a hundred words a minute on your smart phone with your hands in your pockets." I'm not sure how accurate that is, but it still sounds like quite a step up from the laser keyboard. Apparently your fingers still need to twitch, but don't need to complete the full range of movement needed for a keypress. So it might be useful for people who still have hands but have problems (e.g. carpal tunnel, arthritis), or perhaps who just can't stand to type on those damn cell phone keypads. ;-)

  8. problem: most people can't touch type by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I can touch type like a mofo. That's because when I went to school they taught typing as a useful skill.

    From what I have seen, very few people under the age of 30 can touch type at all. Most of them are hunt and peck, two fingered, VERY slow typists.

    I think if they limit the device to touch typists only a few will be able to use it.

  9. fMRI is the only non-invasive way for BMI. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Only way direct BMI can be achieved non-invasive is through fMRI. From fMRI you'll have to "train" the interface to detect the necessary patterns and inputs.
    All this won't be happening anytime soon for mass consumption.

    1. Re: fMRI is the only non-invasive way for BMI. by fubarrr · · Score: 1

      No, it is EEG.

  10. Even Worse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Only this time he is typing on...nothing. Just the flat tabletop.

    Since the tabletop does not give, he gets carpal tunnel syndrome even faster!

    1. Re:Even Worse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Assume you're joking, but just in case: the same approach would work if you were typing in the air.

  11. I want by SilverBlade2k · · Score: 1

    I've been wanting this for nearly 20 years. I knew it was only a matter of time before it happened.

    Does this mean that typing speeds won't be relevant anymore in jobs?

    "How fast can you type?" "Well, I can type by brain at over 1000 words per minute..."

    1. Re:I want by JustNiz · · Score: 1

      Read the article. You still have to type with your hands, so no.

    2. Re: I want by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I haven't seen anyone ask for wpm speeds for a solid decade.

    3. Re:I want by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      I can write with my brain at over 2000 words per minute with only about 15% typaus and 5% gramatiical errors.

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    4. Re:I want by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Re-read the article. "Barely perceptible movements", and "This would work if you didn't even have hands"

    5. Re:I want by Ihlosi · · Score: 1
      Re-read the article. "Barely perceptible movements", and "This would work if you didn't even have hands"

      Did they test it? I would assume there are a number of possible issues like muscular atrophy in such cases.

  12. Well done by JustNiz · · Score: 1, Insightful

    You've just won the prize for the most disingenuous headline of the day.
    You still have to type with your hands, so its basically fucking pointless because you could just use a keyboard.

  13. *BSD is still dead by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just sayin' . Peace out.

    1. Re:*BSD is still dead by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      Well, of course. It's a recursive acronym.

      BSD means BSD is Still Dead.

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
  14. Prior Art by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

    https://youtu.be/oSyivQLQfQw?t...

    --
    #DeleteFacebook
  15. But the main barrier ... by swell · · Score: 1

    Wrong. The main barrier is that nobody has found a way to connect electronic circuits to neural tissue in a sustainable way. The body rejects that shit sooner or later. Without that, there can never be a useful computer brain interface. This is your chance for a Nobel prize- make it happen!

    --
    ...omphaloskepsis often...
    1. Re:But the main barrier ... by Tough+Love · · Score: 2

      The main barrier is that nobody has found a way to connect electronic circuits to neural tissue in a sustainable way. The body rejects that shit sooner or later.

      Couldn't be bothered to do your research before posting?

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    2. Re:But the main barrier ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Can't you?

      Currently a number of groups are conducting preliminary motor prosthetic implants in humans. These studies are presently limited to several months by the longevity of the implants.

    3. Re:But the main barrier ... by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      Longevity is not the main barrier, getting the signals right is.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    4. Re:But the main barrier ... by swell · · Score: 1

      You should read the link you posted before displaying your ignorance. Among other things it says:

      "Much research is also being done on the surface chemistry of neural implants in effort to design products which minimize all negative effects that an active implant can have on the brain, and that the body can have on the function of the implant."

      Why do you suppose these people are wasting time and money in this research when all the answers have been found (according to you)?

      --
      ...omphaloskepsis often...
  16. would be nice if you could hang or rest your arms by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 1

    The standard keyboard position plays havoc with the wrists, the forearms, the teres, the neck muscles, the back.

    Being able to sit comfortably with arms folded and "type" would help with many of those issues.

    --
    She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
  17. What the hell am I doing then? by Arzaboa · · Score: 1

    Even the amoeba's I call my relatives have to use their brains for typing. Now, using ones brain to think about what one is typing is a totally different question.

    --
    "I'm just a cat with upgraded parts" - Jim Carrey

  18. A half-way solution that nobody wanted by Slugster · · Score: 1

    It doesn't avoid RSI, and it isn't what most people imagine--since they want to bypass the whole requirement for keyboarding totally.

    1. Re: A half-way solution that nobody wanted by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You clearly lack imagination.

    2. Re:A half-way solution that nobody wanted by HiThere · · Score: 1

      Well, the existing ways that involve surgery also require lots of effort, which people imagine they won't. They're also slower than typing on a keyboard, and have other defects.

      I doubt that we'll come up with a way similar to what people imagine when they think of typing via the brain in the coming decade, and if we do it will involve reading the tensions of muscles around the larynx. With direct brain feed it would probably be simpler to do visualization transmission...but do you have any idea how poorly most people visualize?

      --

      I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
    3. Re:A half-way solution that nobody wanted by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      Of corse it avoids it.
      You are not actually using your fingers or muscles.

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
  19. What could go wrong.... by rholtzjr · · Score: 4, Funny

    Okay, while this may be pretty handy in some cases, but I am hoping people are taking into account that IF it is brain activity that simulates a keyboard based on what your thinking..... Get where this is going. No more thinking about last night with your wife, no more cubicle walks ups that will interrupt your thought process, and holy cow, do we need to reference the micro-managing boss scenario? I see benefits and the opposite with technology like this. I just hope someone does think about this.

    It would be kind of bad if a co-worker drops by and "Yea, I would tap that" shows up on your screen.

  20. Tip of the iceberg by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    I toldja this was coming. Eventually everyone in the work-place will have to have one to compete with countries that make it wide-spread.

    And soon after, we'll even skip the screen and hook into the optic nerve. (All your damned JS libraries will be obsolete yet again. Lobe.js will be in :-)

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
  21. Permissions Granted by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

    Show of hands: Given what we know about what apps do with our personal information, who wants to install the app for typing with your brain?

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  22. Poor timing by hattable · · Score: 3, Funny

    I just bought Mavis Beacon :(

    --
    OMG facts!
    1. Re:Poor timing by niftydude · · Score: 1

      Actually good timing - you still need to know how to touch type to be able to use this thing.

      --
      You can never know everything, and part of what you do know will always be wrong. Perhaps even the most important part.
  23. BMI? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Now your Body Mass Index (BMI) can type!

    The chubbier you are the faster you type?

    Get your acronyms straight before posting a thread. Google is your friend...

  24. myoelectric prosthetics by doctorvo · · Score: 1

    Sounds like they are actually just implementing myoelectric prosthetics. Note that that is measuring muscle signals, not nerve signals. Similar technology has been used for subvocalized speech recognition

    There have been prosthetics based on measuring signals from the spinal column or peripheral nerves, but they usually still use implanted electrodes because nerve signals are much weaker than myoelectric signals.

  25. BMI by evanh · · Score: 1

    I'm certainly no health fanatic but I doubt I'm not the only one who reads a medical article and immediately thinks BMI means Body Mass Index.

  26. Solving a non-problem. by Ihlosi · · Score: 2
    What they're doing is probably an EMG and not really new.

    And it doesn't help most of the people who would need a 'typing by brain' interface - because the reason they need it is usually that the signals their brain is trying to send don't get anywhere near their muscles because parts of the brain or the spinal cord are not working as they should.

    1. Re:Solving a non-problem. by GeekWithAKnife · · Score: 2


      YET despite not alleviating the difficulties of every possible disability it is still helping and much better than some.

      I can imagine there is a numerically large enough part of the worldwide population that can benefit from this.

      It's very much like curing one specific rare type of cancer. It still solved a serious issue and it is progress.

      Not that I wish it on anyone but imagine if you have a disability that prevents you from using your fingers/hands but your forearms are fine. -will you say it's a "non-problem"??

      --
      A 'singular oddity' is an event that cannot be explained and only happens when you are alone.
    2. Re:Solving a non-problem. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It may not help everyone, but it will help some people. And one of the use cases they mentioned was being able to type on a mobile device or even with your hands in pockets. That will be useful to most of us who dislike the tiny mobile screens to type stuff in.

      What if you hand / fingers are amputated / damaged due to whatever reasons?

      And the article (yes I skimmed it), mentioned being able to control prostethics, robots, etc with this. So it may even enable other functionality which we are not even thinking about now.

      No doubt this is currently unable to help those who have major nerve damage / maybe even major muscle damage (they did mention being able to type by just small twitches of your muscle, so may be possible), but it is a step in the right direction.

    3. Re:Solving a non-problem. by mbourgon · · Score: 1

      FTFA: "The innovation lies in picking up EMG more precisely—including getting signals from individual neurons—than the previously existing technology, and, even more important, figuring out the relationship between the electrode activity and the muscles so that CTRL-Labs can translate EMG into instructions that can control computer devices."

      --
      "Sometimes a woman is a kind of religion, she can save your soul & set you free from all your sins" - Bad Examples
    4. Re:Solving a non-problem. by Ihlosi · · Score: 1
      FTFA: "The innovation lies in picking up EMG more preciselyâ"including getting signals from individual neuronsâ"

      EMG doesn't pick up signals from neurons. It picks up electric activity of muscle cells (the M stands for 'myo'). If anything, their method gets signals from individual muscle fibers.

      Picking up an electrophysiological signal from unprepared skin and without an adhesive electrode sounds interesting, though.

  27. Well, it is WIRED by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Where would they be without hype?

    1. Re:Well, it is WIRED by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      WIRELESS

  28. Re:would be nice if you could hang or rest your ar by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I don't really have that problem. But then, my forearms rest on the desk while the fingers manipulate the keyboard. Never understood why'd people put the keyboard right on the edge (or on its own drawer underneath the desk) because exactly this and it's completely unnecessary. Also don't understand why (with the RSI hype) there'd be all sorts of "rests" that either constricted or still had your limbs mostly floating in air. All I really need is at least a handspan or so of desk in front of the keyboard. Well, that, and regularly stopping and doing something else for a bit. No need to over-exert myself.

    The only direct benefit of TFA that I can readily see would be a "easy" mobile typing without having to lug a keyboard around. I'd still miss the tactile feedback, though.

  29. Re:would be nice if you could hang or rest your ar by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 1

    RSI doesn't affect everyone.

    But I work on folks who your approach fails for.

    Keep doing your regular breaks. Most the people I work on do not take breaks.

    --
    She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
  30. Not a brain-machine-interface. by Ihlosi · · Score: 1
    I can imagine there is a numerically large enough part of the worldwide population that can benefit from this.

    Possibly. They shouldn't be calling a "brain-machine-interface" then, because it is not. If they're really doing an EMG, it's not even an interface to a part of the nervous system, because they're measuring electrical activity of muscle cells.

    Ironically, I probably won't be able to use this toy, due to an SCI that generates spurious muscle contractions, among other symptoms.

  31. EXTREMELY misleading advertisement by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is typing without a keyboard and it has *NOTHING* to do with BMI. They are just recording muscle movements in the arm. We are nowhere near actual BMI technology. (I worked in this field for 5 years.) Or, as we used to say on \. (man, I miss the good ol' days), IAABMIE.

    1. Re:EXTREMELY misleading advertisement by Ihlosi · · Score: 1
      This is typing without a keyboard and it has *NOTHING* to do with BMI

      This.

      It's a muscle-machine-interface. Just electrical instead of mechanical.

  32. This is not Typing by Brain by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Let me know when Stephen Hawking is using it. Then we will know we have cracked the "typing by brain" nut.

  33. Finally! by gringer · · Score: 1

    Finally, someone [else] has realised that the brain is not necessary for a computer interface:

    https://slashdot.org/comments....

    https://slashdot.org/comments.... *

    https://slashdot.org/comments.... ... although my guess is that these people are still trying to teach computers how our brain works, rather than the other way round.

    * Probably the closest slashdot comment I've written to TFA.

    --
    Ask me about repetitive DNA
  34. This explains ... by PPH · · Score: 1

    all the 'y0u fAiL' posts.

    (Damn, she has a nice pair of ....) where the hell is the backspace?

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  35. RSI help? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I wonder how much this could help RSI sufferers like myself. Not having to actually position hands and punch keys could be a life changer.

  36. Stop it chris! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You're not pwning anyone chris...

    You're making a huge online footprint that could hurt your social and professional life.
    If was gonna hire a kinda odd guy who I thought might be good for the job I would want to get a feel for his quirks. Your internet footprint is full of exactly the sort of "quirks" that I wouldn't want in my workplace and I'd pass on hiring you.

    The only sort of places you'll ever work are low wage jobs that run a criminal background check and call it good. Always shit government contracts with insulting pay. Fuck man do yourself a favor. Stop using your name for your cringy shitposting you... you...Dense Creimer

  37. Body Mass Index???? by MercTech · · Score: 1

    BMI
    I get sick of acronyms without an explanation. But, what do you expect in an article about a company whose name is an abbreviation from back in the 8 bit computer days. Hint, modern computers can handle actually using whole words.

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    NRRPT/RCT