DARPA working on "Silent Talk" telepathic communication for soldiers

We're no strangers to crazy DARPA projects around here, but this one especially strikes our fantastic fancy. The agency's researchers are currently undertaking a project -- called Silent Talk -- to "allow user-to-user communication on the battlefield without the use of vocalized speech through analysis of neural signals." That's right: they're talking about telepathy. Using an EEG to read brain waves, DARPA is going to attempt to analyze "pre-speech" thoughts, then transmit them to another person. They first plan to map people's EEG patterns to his / her individual words, then see if those patterns are common to all people. If they are, then the team will move on to developing a way to transmitting those patterns to another person. Dream big, that's what we always say!

[B3astofthe3ast @ May 14th 2009 5:45PM]

What if the robots get their hands on this?

[andres @ May 14th 2009 11:13PM]

wifi

[Ridgecity @ May 14th 2009 5:45PM]

"Eat Up Martha" all over again.

[Razloga @ May 14th 2009 5:49PM]

Silent talk... you mean like sign language?...

[Col. Readily Apparent Upon Cursory Inspection @ May 14th 2009 5:54PM]

That would work fine... except for the fact you need LOS to get the information. They are talking about wireless transmission.

I read a nifty report on DoD funding someone for subvocalization communication a while back. Anyone know if that research is still going on?

[HunterXI @ May 14th 2009 6:17PM]

More like:

Silent Talk... you mean like what Ghost in the Shell imagined 20 years ago? You should totally have put up an image of the Major.

[Plothole @ May 14th 2009 6:47PM]

@Hunter

GitS was also the first thing that came to my mind when I read this.

[OZ-13MS @ May 15th 2009 5:30AM]

Public Security Section 9:

http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/7092/headerau6.jpg

[Brdystyls @ May 14th 2009 5:52PM]

So....When will this be on Recession Antidote? Cause I want one; well a pair atleast.

[Haikibutsu @ May 14th 2009 5:53PM]

"Dammit I just violated Don't ask Don't Tell!"

[yopladas @ May 14th 2009 5:54PM]

' ?! ...

[yopladas @ May 14th 2009 5:55PM]

It took out all the spaces! DAMN YOU ENGADGET COMMENT SYSTEM!

[PGP-Protector @ May 14th 2009 5:55PM]

Great now we'll just get in trouble for Thinking about our COs.

[Col. Readily Apparent Upon Cursory Inspection @ May 14th 2009 5:58PM]

Considering the amount of bitching enlisted manage to do, I don't think this is really all that necessary to read your thoughts. Besides, NCOs can read your mind anyway.

[??? @ May 14th 2009 6:10PM]

Now let's not be too hasty, souljah boy. Those enlisted might be hiding something, you know...

(yeah, I always wanted to say that)

[Unknown @ May 14th 2009 7:05PM]

Don't Think, Don't Tell

[d Mills @ May 14th 2009 6:01PM]

Borg, anyone?

[JS @ May 14th 2009 6:01PM]

It will be awesome to control and use a computer or other stuff like that including machines and robots. No need for a mouse or keyboard.

[lxuke @ May 14th 2009 6:01PM]

BIG BROTHER

[konshuss @ May 14th 2009 6:04PM]

Duck. ..... Duck. *ah- ho ho ho!*

*opens envelope*

What did the soldier say to the dead soldier using his brainwaves?

Heyooooo.

[Joel Stephen @ May 14th 2009 6:06PM]

HAHA Nice one Bato....hey where's the Major?

[mithinco @ May 14th 2009 7:49PM]

Next, they'll have your eyes hacked to make you blind while driving down the highway.

[??? @ May 14th 2009 6:05PM]

"Naughty Diggy!" "Oh, Senator Bix!"

"...an entire year's worth of funding...gone..."

[guy943 @ May 14th 2009 6:17PM]

Obscure PBF jokes FTW.

[Brian Webb @ May 14th 2009 6:17PM]

Can we record my dreams yet?

[Trevor @ May 14th 2009 6:21PM]

Clarke's Third Law: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

[Justin @ May 14th 2009 6:32PM]

Such irony. Engadget is all about science & technological advancements. The past century, majority of the technological advancements that we enjoy today, are trickled down from Pentagon/Military applications.
Yet majority of the internet users on engadget are anti-military, anti-pentagon left wing granola Keith Olbermann watchers while claiming that they love scientific advancements.

Another example would be a post about the Pentagon successfully testing an air to ground laser gun, yet that was frowned upon by engadget readers even though it is the most amazing technological break through of this era.

[DirtyVegas @ May 14th 2009 6:35PM]

Thank god we have you, then.

[Kulahan @ May 14th 2009 6:42PM]

Amen to that, brother! People get so fed up with the government for trying to stop them from doing illegal things. "HOW DARE YOU STOP MY TORRENTS!"

Stealing is stealing. If you're not doing anything illegal, the government could probably care less about what you do.

Because of that, they lose sight of the fact that almost all the things they love to use so much all came from the government they constantly barrage with insults and whatnot. If it weren't for them, you wouldn't even have the internet to commit all of those illegal atrocities! Anyways, cool post, but I think something similar has been done already, and is on the consumer market (though I don't know how advanced or accurate it is).

[Dave @ May 14th 2009 8:08PM]

The reason so many innovations come from the military, is because the military funds university research. We"civilians", in turn, fund the military AND universities.

[something clever @ May 14th 2009 8:31PM]

+ for Justin

The military has been pushing the developmental edge for all of the world since about the dawn of time. Advances in metallurgy, manufacturing - wait, screw making the list. Just about EVERYTHING that everyone uses owes its existence in one way or another to human beings engaging in military development.

The ignorant wouldn't have the internet to bleat on if not for DARPA. If the US military didn't make the push during the cold war during the space / arms races, the very young microchip industry wouldn't have had the funds needed to grow and push the envelope. Take away the funding and development boom caused by US military investment during the early years of the microchip and we'd be lucky to have PC's with the power of an apple II in 2009.

[paul34 @ May 14th 2009 8:42PM]

What? You mean the world isn't made of unicorns, rainbows, and roses? The government ISN't supposed to be my mommy? I have to do things myself WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!

You must be one of those "right wing extremists" who talk about things like the "Constitution." Dangerous!

[Dave @ May 14th 2009 11:24PM]

You guys sound like you think there's a group of scientists in camouflaged lab coats sitting around inventing stuff. Sorry. Innovation comes from the private sector. Money comes from the private sector. The money is stolen FROM the private sector BY the government and given to the military--who, in turn, occasionally gives some back in the form of investment. Your theories of what would or would not have happened had the government not elected to invest in an innovative technology are mere speculation--just as I like to speculate what we could do if we were permitted to keep all the money that falls into the black hole known as "military expenditure".

"Here you go, boy. Here's a bread crumb. There's another one in it for you if you can turn that media player technology into a laser cannon..."

"Gee! Thanks, Major!"

[superhobo @ May 15th 2009 7:22AM]

An air to ground laser gun is "the most amazing technological break through of this era."?

Srsly?

It's a shame we need to keep beating each other up to develop ourselves.

[john @ May 16th 2009 10:33AM]

Yeah, and I'm also grateful to the Nazis for inventing magnetic recording.

[Joey P @ May 14th 2009 6:23PM]

Yeah, I just hope they don't use a little girl named Alma in their experiments, something tells me that would turn out bad.....

[Dunhill @ May 14th 2009 6:36PM]

fubar

[Dave @ May 14th 2009 6:44PM]

Here are some future transmissions:

"What the hell am I doing here?"
"I guess, technically, it could be considered rape..."
"This is NOTHING like Call of Duty."
"Uh. Exactly how am I defending freedom again?"
"Duh..."

[SiXiam @ May 14th 2009 6:44PM]

I remember reading a book on speed reading techniques. This was an old book from I believe the 1960's, not some newfangled infomercial. Anyway one of the experiments was to put electrodes on the throat while people read silently (without speaking). They found that even when reading silently the electrodes still detected signals from the subjects vocal chords. The subject could learn to control this by being aware of the signals. Within a few weeks the technique was lost after not using the equipment to see the electrical activity of the vocal chords. Basically by not having the results of the electrical activity in front of you, everything went right back into the old ways of the vocal chords still getting a tiny signal, while reading silently (without speaking.)

If I was conducting this new experiment that DARPA is doing, I would put the electrodes on the vocal chords, however I have no idea how they would send this signal to another person...

[Jeremy @ May 14th 2009 6:54PM]

Things that will go wrong by thought:

I want to have sex with that guy over there.

I wonder if the Colonel will notice what is in his coffee.

My balls are itchy.

And much much more.


I think they need to have an eye camera, and a small screen text , where you wink twice and then it sends the message.

[hans @ May 14th 2009 7:25PM]

stand
alone
complex

[peepeepants @ May 14th 2009 8:48PM]

Pre-speech thoughts? That is going to be absolute garbage on the battle field.

One man's transmission:
All right this is Hawk 19, closing in on target location- OH, man- I almost tripped on a stick! Was it raining last night? Seems kind of muddy... We can see the target coming in at 32°- damn mosquitos! I HATE MOSQUITOS! Hold on, lemme adjust my goggles- okay, I feel much better and probably look good, too-- target is in sight, ready for- oh, man, it's a full moon!

[lyons @ May 14th 2009 8:50PM]

sounds like the codec from metal gear solid to me.

[Plothole @ May 14th 2009 11:26PM]

Actually the Codec manipulates the inner eye to create sound. Though no explanation was ever given as to why the baddies can't hear Snake himself.

[Edrei @ May 14th 2009 9:38PM]

Somehow, this reminds me of an episode from Fringe, where they the bad guys were communicating on an unknown spectrum and a guy accidentally taps into all the communication in his head.

Just that his brain can't make sense of it, so he draws it out as disturbing images.

[David Sanchez @ May 14th 2009 9:57PM]

Synthetic Telepathy.

[Antipilor @ May 15th 2009 1:06AM]

Oh boy data link. I can't wait to have people chatting on and on while I'm trying to sneak around ventilation shafts.

[kitsu @ May 15th 2009 3:37AM]

So basically they are doing same thing TI had running over a year ago ?

Check out : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyN4ViZ21N0

I think that is gonna be the future at some point. No more mobile phones. Just a necklace.

[Domo(CHAOS) the King @ May 15th 2009 6:37PM]

dat some mgs4 stuff right there i want to use it outside of war

[drmike @ May 17th 2009 11:02AM]

for any who think this is bs, check out "The Field", by Lynn Mctaggert. shows research at places such as Princeton's PEAR lab showing how it is possible for humans using thoughts only to control a computer based random event generator (based on molecular movement of radioisotopes) - IN THE PAST. yes, you read that correct. link to PEAR http://www.princeton.edu/~pear/human_machine.html freaky s--t