Brain-computer interfaces are no longer a thing of the future. A new generation of brain-powered wearable devices — which detect thoughts, feelings and facial expressions via electrical currents our bodies produce — are on the market. World-renowned software development expert Jim McKeeth chimes in on eight mind-blowing gadgets controlled by brainwaves.
Read Your Dog’s Mind
The Nordic Society for Invention and Discover launched an IndiGoGo crowdfunding campaign, No More Woof, with the objective of building a specialized Electroencephalography (EEG) device for dogs. It would detect different mental states of a dog — playful, excited, hungry, scared, sad, curious, etc. — and play a prerecorded message for each: “Let’s play!,” “Squirrel!,” “Feed me,” etc. The device has not yet been produced but the first EEG research was conducted on rabbits and monkeys in 1875. Since then EEG has detected emotions and thoughts in humans — detecting the same in dogs is not far-fetched. The real challenge is keeping the devices on a dog without resorting to the cone of shame.
Control Prosthetics
Prosthetics continue to improve — Olympian Oscar Pistorius was even accused of having an unfair advantage because of his prosthetic “blade” legs in the 2012 Olympic Games. And even though prosthetics get more advanced each year, people had minimal control over their movement. That many change. The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) developed a prosthetic arm that is controlled via an implanted microchip, which gives the user the ability to control the arm in 27 different ways. It won’t be long before a prosthetic arm is stronger and better than a biological limb. Who knows — people may start considering an upgrade.
Fly a Drone Using Your Thoughts
Consumer devices, like the Emotiv Epoc, put the brain-computer interface in the hands of the common man. The Emotiv Epoc is a consumer EEG device making for easy development of brain-computer interface (BCI) applications. The Object Pascal source code, which allows the Emotiv Epoc to fly the Parrot AR.Drone, is available online. In the first step the user completes a simple training process where he/she selects a thought or visualization that represents a command for the drone. For eight seconds the user concentrates on that thought while the software learns what it looks like in their brain. Then, the software can connect to the drone, and when it sees the original thought again, the drone responds by moving in that direction.
Predict Intentions
Magnetic Resonance Images is a process using radio waves and electromagnets to form images of the body. MRIs produce detailed images of the brain, with lots of contrast between different types of tissue and connections. But they also require a large, powerful magnet, which makes it non-portable and dangerous around other metals. When the MRI is analyzed by a computer it is called Functional MRI (fMRI) — this unlocks new levels of analysis. In 2008 researchers were able to predict if a subject would push a button with their left or right hand up to 10 seconds before the subject made the decision. The fMRI was 60 percent accurate, which suggests that decisions are made deep in the brain before we are consciously aware of making them.
Transmit Data Over the Internet
Researchers at the University of Washington successfully transmitted data across the Internet from one researcher’s brain to another. This is called brain-to-brain interface, which allows humans — separated by the Internet — to consciously communicate. A researcher wore an Electroencephalography (EEG) headset — a device that picks up brain waves through the slight fluctuations in electrical voltage resulting from neurons firing in the brain. When testing, the researcher looked at a monitor showing a targeting site, and when the target lined up he thought, “fire.” The thought was captured via the EEG and transmitted across the Internet to the lab where the second researcher had a Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation device and no computer screen. The device consisted of a magnet placed near the brain (outside the skull), which induced a magnetic field in the brain, producing an apparent flash of light, in the researcher’s vision. When the second researcher saw this he pressed the fire button on the computer, hitting the target that the first researcher saw.
Live Forever
Remember the Human Genome Project? It was a huge task to sequence all the genes that define human beings — many didn’t think it could be done. Today a new task is underway — the Human Connectome Project. It will map all the connections between neurons in the human brain. This map is our connectome and it changes as we gain new experiences or learn. A map of an individual’s connectome represents their memories, knowledge and thought patterns at that moment in their life. Through modeling in software, that connectome could be brought to life in electronic format.
Sound like the plot to a science fiction movie? Some researchers decided to start with a much simpler brain — that of a common earthworm. Once they mapped the worm’s connectome, they created a software model and connected it to a LEGO Mindstorm robotic representation of a worm. The robotic worm moves toward sensory input that represents food and away from sensory input that represents threat. Its behavior might be similar to a Roomba or another simple robot, but it was never programmed to act this way. It acted this way due to the connections found in a worm’s brain. Human brains are considerably more complicated than worms but this research will provide huge insights into the metaphysical concepts of souls and consciousness.
Identify Thoughts
Function Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) discovered that similar thoughts in different human brains are similar enough to recognize neurologically. This was tested by showing 10 different images to one subject and observing the information via fMRI. Then they were able to identify which image was observed by a second subject by only using the fMRI scan. It was 100 percent accurate. This technology could be expanded to determine if someone has seen an object or person before, greatly expanding the effectiveness of lie detection technology. Further research has gone so far as to reconstruct images from brain activity.
Accelerate Learning
EEG reads the brain via the fluctuations of voltage it produces. Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) rewires the brain by running a small electrical current through the brain. This produces both an immediate electrical result and a long-term chemical result. Based on the placements of the electrodes, different results are produced. Unlike electroshock therapy, tDCS produces a low current and is barely perceivable. It was used to treat abnormal brains for years, and recently the treatments have been applied to healthy brains.
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) used tDCS in sniper training and reported snipers using tDCS were 50 percent more effective than those who didn’t. Students using tDCS while studying have also received better test scores. Some companies are producing tDCS devices for consumers, while others are building their own. Two consumer device companies, The Brain Stimulator and Foc.us, are now on the market.
Jim McKeeth is lead evangelist at Embarcadero Technologies and a world-renowned software development expert with more than 20 years in the field. He’s an active member of the global developer community and created an interview-program based podcast. McKeeth is a regular speaker, runs the local Google Developer Group in Boise, Idaho and is passionate about helping developers move their ideas and applications forward.
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