Editor's Blog
The most effective brain-computer interfaces (BCI) – like the kind used by Rhesus monkeys in the famous University of Pittsburgh experiments to feed themselves zucchini using a robot arm controlled by their thoughts – leave something to be desired, if we‘re going to, one day, use them for human enhancement. They involve microelectrodes embedded directly into the brain. The process of implanting them requires exploratory probing, which can burst blood vessels and cause stroke-like symptoms or other neurological problems. It‘s not a procedure you‘d want to undergo unless you were completely paralyzed and willing to risk your life for a chance at communicating with the outside world.
For those who don‘t like holes in their heads there is EEG (electroencephalography), which uses electrodes placed on the surface of the scalp to measure the brain‘s electrical activity. Until recently, it appeared as if the potential of EEG was limited as an advanced BCI technology. But with the introduction of faster computers and better machine-learning algorithms to eliminate noise and detect meaningful neural signals through the skull, researchers are again looking to EEG for advanced BCI.
In 2009, DARPA budgeted $4 million to investigate the possibility of “computer-mediated telepathy”: systems that read words in neural signals before they are even spoken.
Over the past few years, numerous proof-of-concept experiments have shown that people unable to move can use simple EEG-based BCI systems for point-and-click, robot control, and even spelling at rates as fast as 20 words per minute. An article titled “Bridging the Brain to the World: A Perspective on Neural Interface Systems,” by John P. Donoghue and published in Neuron, gives an overview of some of the most exciting recent developments in both EEG and more invasive systems. In 2009, DARPA budgeted $4 million to investigate the possibility of “computer-mediated telepathy”: systems that read words in neural signals before they are even spoken. If progress like this continues, keyboards could become as anachronistic as typewriters are today.
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3 Comments
Great technology. The George Greenstein Institute approached me to create a class. The first thing I wanted to do was finally explore the EEG machine. The idea of using quantifiable information, gleaned from the brain itself, representing it in a variety of manners — from purely aesthetic to powerful data visualization — got my mind humming with possibilities. Directly interfacing with the individual experience of perception is a terrain I had not yet been able to directly explore. Through open source hardware I was finally in a position to begin experimenting with how my own mind responds to stimuli. In addition, the format of taking the research directly to a classroom for further development amongst a background of many interests offered new possibilities for refining the technology. . This is my first comment. Your blog has been very useful for me and it provides very good content and too informative,Thanks.
Micheal, I cannot believe you didn’t even mention the Emotiv Epoc http://www.emotiv.com/epoc.html
It’s already a consumer product and available to the public. They have tested it in Secondlife, proven it can detect facial expressions, and it can even track head motions. I expect to see the next generation of the “Luke” arm prosthetic using it.
Ultimately though I think direct neural interface at the point of damage is going to be the solution embraced for prosthetics and spinal cord damage. At least until stem cell repair is feasible.
Comparison of consumer brain-computer interface devices
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_consumer_brain-computer_interface_devices