Communicating with computer through thoughts

[hallenrm]

Computers are known to be operable through a keyboard. a mouse, a touchpad, through speech recognition. But, what if one cannot move a limb or speak a word? A recent technological development may one day make it possible for people to communicate their thoughts directly to a computer without the help of any of these input devices.

 

 

In a recent news published in Nature, it has been reported that a man paralysed from the neck down by knife injuries sustained five years ago can now check his email, control a robot arm and even play computer games using the power of thought alone.

 

Matt Nagle is the name of the person on whom this technology was succesfuly demonstrated. Electrodes implanted in Nagle's brain measure the neural signals generated when he concentrates on trying to move one of his paralysed limbs. Software trained to recognise different patterns of neural activity then translates imagined gestures into the movement of an on-screen cursor or a robotic arm at Nagle's side.

 

"The fundamental findings are that you can record activity from the brain years after injury, that thinking about movement is sufficient to activate the brain, and that we can decode the signal," says John Donoghue of Brown University in New York, who led the work.

 

Source: New Scientist

[ronthepon]

Although not all that new, this can become a very new light for the unfortunate.

[InfiniteNow]

Discoveries this week on the Science channel had a story on this last year. Same dude... pretty cool really.

 

A LOT of reseach has been done by the airforce whereby the pilot flies the plane by thinking about it, not touching controls at all.

 

Computer assisted telepathy/telekinesis... here come!

[Tarantism]

this make sme think of the analog evolution that was brought to my attention by orsycli/the waking life. hmmm.