Brain Controled Amazon Alexa

Synchron is developing a BCI that decodes brain signals to allow people with paralysis the ability to control digital devices with their thoughts alone. Recently, the company announced that its BCI can now be used with Alexa without the need for voice or physical interaction with a touchscreen. Synchron is one of several companies, including Elon Musk’s Neuralink, aiming to commercialize BCIs.

Researchers have been studying these interfaces for decades, mostly in university labs, but no company has received regulatory approval to sell one. Synchron has implanted its BCI in six people in the US and four in Australia as part of early-stage studies and is gearing up to begin a larger trial with more participants. Synchron has also connected the BCI to OpenAI’s ChatGPT and the Apple Vision Pro, a mixed-reality headset.

More information:

https://www.wired.com/story/synchron-amazon-alexa-brain-computer-interface-bci/

Apple Vision Pro’s Eye Tracking Sees What People Type

A group of six computer scientists are revealed a new attack against Apple’s Vision Pro mixed reality headset where exposed eye-tracking data allowed them to decipher what people entered on the device’s virtual keyboard. The attack allowed the researchers to successfully reconstruct passwords, PINs, and messages people typed with their eyes.

Researchers did not gain access to Apple’s headset to see what they were viewing. Instead, they worked out what people were typing by remotely analyzing the eye movements of a virtual avatar created by the Vision Pro. This avatar can be used in Zoom calls, Teams, Slack, Reddit, Tinder, Twitter, Skype, and FaceTime.

More information:

https://www.wired.com/story/apple-vision-pro-persona-eye-tracking-spy-typing/

XR Bus Shows Climate Change

An iconic red shuttle bus ferries commuters and visitors along the winding streets of New York City’s Roosevelt Island. Passengers wear virtual reality headsets for an eye-opening experience – a cutting-edge blend of the physical and digital worlds, designed to engage communities in new ways through the Communal eXtended-Reality (CXR) system. Passengers were transported into a realm where virtual environments seamlessly merged with their real surroundings. Guided by audio narration, they encountered nine striking scenes depicting the escalating impacts of climate change, with a particular focus on rising floodwaters. Projections suggest that a 100-year flood could submerge most of Roosevelt Island. Despite these alarming forecasts, research indicates that such a catastrophe doesn’t feel real to many in the public.

This disconnect between knowledge and urgency is precisely what the CXR system aims to address. The technology provides a fully immersive, shared extended reality (XR) experience designed to foster a unified understanding of pressing challenges, such as climate change. This integration allows participants to experience a shared reality while physically traveling through their environment, making the experience both communal and deeply rooted in place. The deployment of the CXR system on Roosevelt Island proved to be more than just an educational exercise. After seeing “worst-case” flooding scenarios, scenes of Superstorm Sandy, and future sea-level rise forecasts, participants reported strong emotional responses, with many expressing increased concern about climate change and a desire to act.

More information:

https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2024/09/mixing-physical-virtual-worlds-drive-home-climate-urgency