A few weeks ago, engineers
sniffing around the programming code for Google Glass found hidden examples of
ways that people might interact with the wearable computers without having to
say a word. Among them, a user could nod to turn the glasses on or off. A
single wink might tell the glasses to take a picture. But don’t expect these
gestures to be necessary for long. Soon, we might interact with our smartphones
and computers simply by using our minds. In a couple of years, we could be
turning on the lights at home just by thinking about it, or sending an e-mail
from our smartphone without even pulling the device from our pocket. Farther
into the future, your robot assistant will appear by your side with a glass of
lemonade simply because it knows you are thirsty. Researchers in Samsung’s
Emerging Technology Lab are testing tablets that can be controlled by your
brain, using a cap that resembles a ski hat studded with monitoring electrodes,
the MIT Technology Review, the science and technology journal of the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, reported this month. The technology, often called a
brain computer interface, was conceived to enable people with paralysis and
other disabilities to interact with computers or control robotic arms, all by
simply thinking about such actions. Before long, these technologies could well
be in consumer electronics, too. Some crude brain-reading products already
exist, letting people play easy games or move a mouse around a screen.
NeuroSky, a company based in San
Jose, Calif., recently released a Bluetooth-enabled headset that can monitor
slight changes in brain waves and allow people to play concentration-based
games on computers and smartphones. These include a zombie-chasing game,
archery and a game where you dodge bullets — all these apps use your mind as
the joystick. Another company, Emotiv, sells a headset that looks like a large
alien hand and can read brain waves associated with thoughts, feelings and
expressions. The device can be used to play Tetris-like games or search through
Flickr photos by thinking about an emotion the person is feeling — like happy,
or excited — rather than searching by keywords. Muse, a lightweight, wireless
headband, can engage with an app that ‘exercises the brain’ by forcing people
to concentrate on aspects of a screen, almost like taking your mind to the gym.
Car manufacturers are exploring technologies packed into the back of the seat
that detect when people fall asleep while driving and rattle the steering wheel
to awaken them. But the products commercially available today will soon look
archaic. The current brain technologies are like trying to listen to a
conversation in a football stadium from a blimp. To really be able to
understand what is going on with the brain today you need to surgically implant
an array of sensors into the brain. In other words, to gain access to the
brain, for now you still need a chip in your head.
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