"Thought helmets" could enable voiceless troop communication

This won't mark the first time the US government has looked into other means for helping soldiers communicate on the battlefield, but it's one of the first instances where vocal cords aren't even necessary. The US Army has recently awarded a $4 million contract to a coalition of scientists, all of which will soon start developing a "thought helmet" to enable voiceless, secure communication between comrades. In theory, at least, the helmet will boast a litany of sensors that will hopefully "lead to direct mental control of military systems by thought alone." According to Dr. Elmar Schmoozer, the Army neuroscience overseeing the program, the system will be like "radio without a microphone." Oh, and don't think for a second that they aren't considering civilian applications as well -- passing along jokes on the boss via telekinesis? Yes, please.

[Via Slashdot]

[Philippe @ Sep 22nd 2008 9:14AM]

On the plus side, it scares the crap out of the enemies.

[linumax @ Sep 22nd 2008 9:22AM]

Yeah, especially once they have found a way to hack into it!

[ZaxCG2 @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:45AM]

FOR THE GLORY OF KANE... NOD WILL PREVAIL!!

Funny, always thought USA would be a part of GDI.

[BigD145 @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:48AM]

At least until the enemy figures out how to rig a disposable camera as an EMP grenade.

[JMMGoalster @ Sep 22nd 2008 11:48AM]

+1 for the C&C reference

[JeremyR @ Sep 22nd 2008 5:31PM]

So "Don't ask, don't tell" will become "Don't ask, don't tell, don't think" ?

[Hackius @ Sep 22nd 2008 9:15AM]

Can't they just use this:
http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/13/audeo-think-n-spell-neckband-allows-voiceless-phone-calls/

[Tim @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:47AM]

clearly you're not familiar with America

[absinthe party @ Sep 22nd 2008 9:16AM]

With a name like Schmoozer, this is obviously all hogwash and poppycock. Good day, sir!

[Ian @ Sep 22nd 2008 9:21AM]

"Holy shit, I'm so bloody scared! Boy, I hope nobody heard that I'm pissing myself........"

[absinthe party @ Sep 22nd 2008 9:30AM]

Except, here in the U.S. we don't use the word "bloody," and we fear nothing because we've been drinking the blood of our enemies. Also, Redbull.

[Johan S @ Sep 22nd 2008 9:23AM]

This will be awesome when computers allow neural UIs for typing and opening files etc. It would all be instant, once a person gets used to it it will be second nature .. easier than typing and as intuitive as speaking. No more mice or keyboards!

[mattemer @ Sep 22nd 2008 9:28AM]

Scary and awesome all at the same time. And at the risk of sounding like an uber-dork, it would be telepathy, not telekinesis, right?

[LincolnStein @ Sep 22nd 2008 9:33AM]

This is straight from Metal Gear Solid 4. In the game, all soldiers use "nano machines" to communicate and talk to each other more efficient.

[Jake Tobak @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:32AM]

You're right, scientists have been ripping off fiction for too long!
I demand that they stop all research into the matter immediately!!!

[nzo @ Sep 22nd 2008 9:34AM]

Welcome to the hive mind.

[HOOPER @ Sep 22nd 2008 6:07PM]

WE ARE BORG. YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED. RESISTANCE IS FUTILE.

[dj496 @ Sep 22nd 2008 9:34AM]

Is this wise? How easily can you control your thoughts, let alone when you're in a battle situation?

[randombloke @ Sep 23rd 2008 8:43AM]

Are you kidding?
That's half the point right there; learning to use these things in a disciplied enough manner to function on the battlefield will automatically require learning the sort of mental control techniques that reduce susceptibility to panic and increase resistance to torture.
Plus, hey, telepathy.
It's a total two-fer...

[Sisyphus @ Sep 22nd 2008 9:36AM]

So now when Sgt. Fury has flashbacks of Vietnam in his sleep, there will be actual danger close artillery dropping on his men.

[Jash Sayani @ Sep 22nd 2008 9:38AM]

Nice. And the enemies will hack into the US channel using their helmets !
It would seriously be a lot of fun !!!

[Slacker @ Sep 22nd 2008 9:41AM]

This is actually the control system for a new series of mechs.

[ajfarson @ Sep 22nd 2008 9:48AM]

This is scary tech... life imitating sci-fi. This opens the door to very dangerous abuses, and I am not paranoid... we are talking about humans with the ability to read minds after all... Not good, great example of where science could take us but shouldn't. They should put that $4M into research that will actually benefit mankind rather than paving the way to greater human atrocities.

[ipubs bastard child @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:29AM]

maybe; but war is the easiest way for governments to indirectly make a lot of cash.. in particular with the american government that allows its polititians to be key stakeholders in these war machines, they personally stand to benefit substantially from it..

But from wars, great ideas pool downwards to the general public. Such as inventions from the space race.. which formed part of the cold war.

[Jake Tobak @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:35AM]

I'd rather spend time making it secure than not making it at all.

[Arttemis @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:36AM]

"But from wars, great ideas pool downwards to the general public. Such as inventions from the space race.. which formed part of the cold war."

Not to mention that much of the data used in the space race came from SS concentration camps where horrific pressure-based tests were performed on prisoners.
Talk about an ethical dilemma...

[stan @ Oct 15th 2008 5:40PM]

don't be such a a luddite

[Greg @ Sep 22nd 2008 9:54AM]

Remember to think in Russian. In RUSSIAN!

[Vcize @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:22AM]

War movies would be way less cool with people staring deep in thought to relay orders as explosions go off around them rather than yelling them amidst the chaos.

[maveric101 @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:22AM]

Creepily reminds me of F.E.A.R. ...

[whiskey @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:26AM]

Kojima should start patenting his ideas...

[Arttemis @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:31AM]

Except that this was already the main plot of the 1982 Clint Eastwood movie, Firefox, about a state-of-the-art jet with EEG inputs.

Do you *really* think these ideas came from videogames first?

[tpadekar @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:26AM]

"Thought helmets" could enable voiceless troop communication.............. and hacking brains!

No, thanks!

[Dave @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:33AM]

Resistance is futile.

[ipubs bastard child @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:35AM]

thought helmets this year, next year it'll be in brain advertising with limited DRM media.
Intergalactic Proton Powered Electrical Tentacle Advertising Droids!!!
Intergalactic Proton Powered Electrical Tentacle Advertising Droids!!!
Intergalactic Proton Powered Electrical Tentacle Advertising Droids!!!

[bondsbw @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:38AM]

Indeed... but I'm all for pulling jokes on the boss using telekinesis.

[Magallanes @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:38AM]

"$4 million contract"

For a military level, it is nothing, not even for a contract to clean a bathroom, neither for a s&r.

[GregH @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:42AM]

I'm always curious as to reliability issues with using super-high tech equipment in rough environments. It's not like soldiers will be using these things in a controlled setting. Aside from being exposed to the elements, there is the possibility of physical damage.

What happens if there is a glitch in the software/hardware - does the tank you are controlling suddenly start turning in circles at full speed, firing bullets in all directions?

[DTrap @ Sep 22nd 2008 11:16AM]

Kurt Vonnegut, much? Creepy...

[absurdio @ Sep 22nd 2008 12:50PM]

...I Kurt Vonnegut as often as I'm able. :)
I don't guess "chronosynclastic" or "infundibula" are among the 150 words this thing knows yet...

[scleond @ Sep 22nd 2008 11:34AM]

Does anyone here know if brain waves are word-specific or 'meaning'-specific. For example, would the English 'yes' and the French 'oui' (or any other word implying an affirmative) have the same or similar brain waves? Or is it word specific, for example 'yes' and 'affirmative' would have different waves? Also, would homophones be the same brain wave? Perhaps there's an area for meaning and an area for actual word formation, which seems more likely as I continue to type this sentence.

Basically I'm getting at a universal translator (ok, not universal, just inter-human. . . .or maybe not?). I'd be very interested to learn the biology/neuroscience side to this. Being a signals processing guy, I know that if we can filter past all the junk and get to the verbal brain waves, the rest is a cinch (relatively speaking). Any papers or articles on the subject would be greatly appreciated.

[granny down east @ Sep 22nd 2008 12:19PM]

Much of the brain's intranet relies on subvisual modeling. That would be universally understood (at least by bipedal primates).
The subvocal models would have to be translated or transliterated. Training a thought helmet user to think subvisually would improve communication between echelons of dissimilar languages.

However, we'll have the universal translator by that time--no worries.

[Tyler @ Sep 22nd 2008 12:46PM]

I don't think I want my thoughts to be heard out loud...That would get me in trouble!

Wait...It just happened!

[absurdio @ Sep 22nd 2008 1:02PM]

Actually, my computer has a voiceless communication feature. A keyboard.
Pens have a similar feature.
(No, no. I do see the significance of this tech. You don't have to reply with an explanation as to why this might be useful on the battlefield.)

Also: the guy's name is apparently "Dr. Elmar Schmeisser" ...which is only slightly less ridiculous.

[mike @ Sep 22nd 2008 1:40PM]

Uhh. What does the device do when you think things you never act on? Man I really need to stoop a deuce right now. Does the machine check inventories of toilet paper? Hmm.

[bill.whitford @ Sep 22nd 2008 2:27PM]

so this would be Thought Over IP, or TOIP??

[B3astofthe3ast @ Sep 22nd 2008 2:33PM]

Ugh, they'll find a way to beam ads into our heads....

[dukemang @ Sep 22nd 2008 3:11PM]

Wow, now soldiers can tell their commanders their screwed 4x faster than talking.

[ClarkyAC @ Sep 22nd 2008 5:35PM]

Wow, pretty much like Ghost in the Shell for anyone that watches it :p

[Charlie Calhoun @ Sep 22nd 2008 6:35PM]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't this sound like a step towards becoming the Borg??