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'Thinking cap' controls prosthetic arm with thoughts, not surgery
The ability to control prosthetics with only the power of your mind has been around for a while, but it typically requires control electronics implanted directly into the patient. With this new, non-invasive method developed at the University of Houston, however, amputees can command their robotic limbs without surgery. Instead of implants, the UH system uses a wearable "thinking cap" (aka an EEG) that monitors brain activity externally through the scalp. A brain-machine interface (BMI) then interprets these brain waves and converts that intention into mechanical motion. Basically, the patient thinks about picking up an object, the BMI recognizes the intention and then tells an attached prosthetic to do so. Even at this early stage of development, University of Houston researchers have gotten the system to work properly 80 percent of the time.
Researchers say treadmill desks make you smarter
Every week, a group of scientists publish a study that arrives at a ker-azy, headline-grabbing conclusion. Unfortunately, it's easy to just report on these studies as if they were handed down as truth by St. Albert, the patron saint of scientists. That's why we should take this Canadian study, published in Computers in Human Behavior, with an obligatory pinch of salt. According to its conclusions, you see, people who work at a treadmill desk aren't only healthier, but are also significantly smarter.
Control Google Glass with your mind... and a second headset
Up until now, you can only navigate Google Glass by touching or talking to it, but London-based firm This Place just made it possible to control the device using something else: your brainwaves. The company just released an open source application called MindRDR that gives you something akin to very, very limited telekinetic abilities -- so long as you have both Google Glass and Neurosky's EEG biosensor headset. See, MindRDR serves as the bridge that connects the two, translating the brain activity from the EEG biosensor into executable commands for the high-tech eyewear. At the moment, the software can only take pictures and upload them to either Facebook or Twitter, but This Place released the app for free on GitHub in hopes that other developers will use it for more advanced projects.
Students build a robot arm you control with the wink of an eye
Want proof that you don't need big, specialized equipment to produce a mind-controlled robot arm? Just look at a recent University of Toronto student project. Ryan Mintz and crew have created an arm that you control using little more than a brainwave-sensing headset (which is no longer that rare) and a laptop. The team's software is smart enough to steer the arm using subtle head movements, such as clenching your jaw or winking your eye; it also knows when you've relaxed.
Hands-on with the consumer-ready Muse headband and software
If you think the person above looks weathered, broken and a little bit ill, you'd be right. After all, it's the last day of CES, and although this editor wasn't sure he had any working neurons left, he nevertheless took a trip to InteraXon's booth to check out the consumer-ready version of Muse, the mind-probing headband. We first came across Muse this time last year, and in terms of hardware, only minor changes have been made. The EEG sensors in contact with your forehead -- seven in total, measuring four channels -- are now made of conductive ink instead of cold metal, the whole thing is more flexible, and rubbery cushions have been added to its ends. These make wearing the headband perfectly comfortable, but otherwise, its form factor remains unchanged. The band itself is available for pre-order for 270 bucks, with the first units expected to start shipping in spring. To make use of the hardware, InteraXon has, of course, developed companion software for iOS and Android (the band communicates with mobile devices via Bluetooth). Last year, we saw a basic demo whereby changes in our brain activity triggered different events in a wintery scene. What the company has built over the past year, however, is much more polished.
UCSF study shows gaming makes you cognitively younger (video)
A slew of negatives plague video games -- Peter Pan Syndrome, hyper-violence, camping -- but their youthfulness could do just what Nintendo's Brain Age promised: improve elderly brain function. Over four years, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco had a group play a custom game (video of it in action is after the break) that tasks players to drive and identify road signs that appear while ignoring certain others, according to the New York Times. It's not quite Grand Theft Auto, but it proved how hard successfully multitasking becomes with age. However, after training with the game, the 60 to 80 year old test subjects stomped those a fraction of their age who had no prior exposure to it. What's more, this experience produced brain functionality benefits outside of the game. This isn't a fluke, either. For proof, the scientists used electroencephalography to monitor the older subjects and found that while playing, the theta wave activity -- associated with attention -- in their prefrontal cortexes looked like that of younger adults. These findings may help scientists understand what areas of the brain "could and should" be manipulated to improve cognitive functions like memory. The study appears in today's edition of Nature and backs up similar research from May that also used a concentration-heavy game, and reported like results. Now if you'll pardon us, we have to show our parents that all those hours of our childhood weren't wasted.
University of Minnesota researchers demo AR.Drone controlled by thought (video)
Researchers from the University of Minnesota seem hellbent on turning us all into X-Men. Why's that, you ask? Well, back in 2011, the team devised a method, using non-invasive electroencephalogram (EEG), to allow test subjects to steer computer generated aircraft. Fast forward to today and that very same team has managed to translate their virtual work into real-world mind control over a quadrocopter. Using the same brain-computer interface technique, the team was able to successfully demonstrate full 3D control over an AR.Drone 1.0, using a video feed from its front-facing camera as a guide. But it's not quite as simple as it sounds. Before mind-handling the drone, subjects underwent a training period that lasted about three months on average and utilized a bevy of virtual simulators to let them get acquainted with the nuances of mental navigation. If you're wondering just how exactly these human guinea pigs were able to fly a drone using thought alone, just imagine clenching your fists. That particular mental image was responsible for upward acceleration. Now imagine your left hand clenched alone... that'd cause it to move to the left; the same goes for using only the right. Get it? Good. Now, while we wait for this U. of Minnesota team to perfect its project (and make it more commercial), perhaps this faux-telekinetic toy can occupy your fancy.
Samsung explores touchless tablet interaction with brainwave technology
Try and wrap this one around your noggin. Samsung is currently working with researchers at the University of Texas on a project involving EEG caps that harnesses the power of one's mind to control tablets and smartphones, and if that weren't enough, the company's actually hoping to take it mainstream. Now, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let's be clear: in its current stage, the system is cumbersome and aimed at those with disabilities, but Samsung's already proven that it's interested in alternative input methods, and this could certainly be the logical conclusion. As is, participants are asked to wear EEG caps that measure the electrical activity along their scalp. Then, they're able to make selections by focusing on an icon that flashes at a distinct frequency from others, which the system recognizes as a unique electrical pattern. Overall, the accuracy of the system is in the ballpark of 80 to 95 percent, and users are able to make selections on average of every five seconds. In order to make the system more approachable, the researchers hope to develop EEG hats that are more convenient and less intrusive -- in other words, ones that people can wear throughout the day. We can't promise this type of futuristic tech will come anytime soon, but for a closer peek, hit up the source link for a peek at Samsung's next wild idea.
Harvard lets human minds control rats, private rodent armies remain distant (video)
Sure, we've seen rats control other rats, but that won't give us a legion of mind-controlled creatures to unleash upon an innocent public, will it? Harvard Medical School may unwittingly assist with solving our (rather misguided) plight, as it just experimented with a system that lets a human mind trigger actions in a rat's motor cortex. The test had sensor-equipped humans watch a screen that flashed in sync with their EEG brain patterns for visual stimulation; as soon their attention shifted to controlling the rat, they triggered an ultrasonic pulse that twitched the rodent's tail. There's a few problems with the implementation beyond the obvious lack of autonomy for the poor target creature, though. The rat's anaesthetized state likely affected the results, and the system isn't currently sophisticated enough to map specific thoughts to corresponding actions. The Harvard team is working to refine the technology, however, and there may be a day when we can satisfy our megalomania... or at least, put the Pied Piper on notice.
Muse brain-sensing headband thoughts-on (video)
Plenty of companies are experimenting with thought-reading gadgets, and in the cluttered South Hall here at CES, we came across the folks from InteraXon showing off their Indiegogo-funded "Muse brain-sensing headband." It measures EEG signals from four forehead sensors and two tucked behind the ears, and sends those brain measurements to other gear via Bluetooth. InteraXon has developed an app suite for mobile devices to showcase the headband's capabilities, including thought-controlled games and brain tracking, exercise and fitness software for improving cognitive function, memory, attention and for reducing stress. That'll come bundled with any purchased units, but an SDK is also available for third-party developers to explore other possibilities. They had a demonstration set up on the show floor, so we thought we'd sit down and take it for a spin. The headband was flexible and surprisingly comfortable, and with a bit of fiddling, we were good to go. One monitor showed brain activity on a couple of complicated graphs, while a scene on a second monitor grew busier as our concentration increased. Watching one graph react to blinking was pretty cool, and once concentration levels reached over 85%, it started to snow on the animated scene. While this obviously isn't very relevant to any potential applications, it was fun to watch the hardware clearly working as intended. You can check out our shots of the headband in the gallery, or check out the video of us trying it out below. Unfortunately we were only allowed to use it for a limited time -- the demonstration was in danger of breaking due to this editors' massive brain. Kevin Wong contributed to this report.
DARPA threat detection technology uses a camera to see targets, software and soldier brains to identify them
DARPA aids our military in myriad ways, from designing one shot, one kill weapons to creating robotic pack mules to carry soldiers' gear. It's also been building tools for soldiers to better survey their environment and identify threats, and its latest such tool is called the Cognitive Technology Threat Warning System (CT2WS). CT2WS is comprised of a 120-megapixel electro-optical video camera with a 120-degree field of view feeding a laptop running cognitive visual processing algorithms. Those algorithms identify potential targets in the video feed, which are shown to a soldier wearing an EEG cap that monitors brain signals. You see, the human brain is particularly good at perceiving threats, and CT2WS looks for the particular brain wave that occurs when we see one. The human component drastically improves the accuracy with which the system can identify enemies from afar. How accurate? Testing in desert, tropical and open terrain showed that without a solider/EEG filter, the system had 810 false alarms out of 2,304 threat events in an hour. Incorporating the filter resulted in only five false alarms per hour, plus it was able to identify 91 percent of the potential targets successfully. Not good enough, you say? Add commercial radar into the mix and the army becomes omniscient -- the system then identified 100 percent of the test targets.
Researchers tout progress with brain-controlled robotic legs
While some mind-control technologies may not amount to much more than gimmicks, there's also plenty of serious research being done in the field -- particularly when it comes to artificial limbs. So far, the majority of that work has focused on robotic arms, but a team of researchers from the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Long Beach, California have now made some progress with a robotic leg prosthesis controlled by EEG signals. As you might expect, things remain a bit limited at this point -- not amounting to much more than the ability to start and stop -- but the researchers say they've been able to achieve a 100 percent response rate with no "false alarms," and that the results are promising enough to begin tackling additional degrees of freedom like turning and sitting. What's more, while the system has so far only been tested on able-bodied individuals, the researchers hope that it will eventually be able to aid those with spinal cord injuries and aid in rehabilitation. You can get a quick look at it on video after the break.
EEG headware probes your neurons, shows interrogators your cranial contact list
You might pride yourself on your poker face, but there would be no way to hide from a skull-probing EEG helmet being developed by Veritas Scientific. The device takes advantage of a well-known medical response called P300, which causes your brain's voltage to drop a split-second after you put a name to a face or object. Simply by showing you a slideshow of different images, interrogators could tell whether or not you recognize a particular individual -- or maybe that LTE-connected railgun hidden in your trunk. The company is pursuing military contracts and hopes to have a prototype ready in time for this year's war game exercises, but meanwhile you might want to start thinking of a way to install that tinfoil hat inside your skull.
Axio's EEG headband helps you teach your brain to focus (hands-on)
Usually when an EEG sensor headset graces these pages, it's used to peer into your thoughts or grant the wearer the power to control other gadgets with his or her mind. While such uses have appeal, start-up company Axio has a new EEG headband that aims to help you learn to better control your own brain. It tracks your level of mental focus in real-time and provides positive reinforcement audio feedback when you're mentally locked in. The neoprene band packs a trio of electrodes, a PCB with a Bluetooth radio and audio out, and a battery pack to power everything. It works by identifying the brainwave readings that correlate to ideal executive function in your pre-frontal cortex and shooting that data to your computer or phone via Bluetooth. Axio's software then shows an onscreen graph that charts your focus level in real-time, and for folks who prefer a more literal tracking method, there's a photo above the chart that moves in and out of focus along with your mind. Additionally, the headband provides pleasing audio neurofeedback when you're focused in order to train you to stay mentally engaged.%Gallery-158654% Unfortunately, we couldn't get much more information about the neurofeedback functionality, as the technology behind it is the company's secret sauce, and it won't divulge more until it's got the cash to bring the band to market. We also weren't able to actually test the band to see how it works, as it's still in the prototype phase and there's still a kink or two left to work out. Axio did tell us that the prototype we got our mitts on was the result of just six short months of work, and that after hacking together the original design using Arduino, the current iteration has a custom PCB better suited to Axio's needs. Co-founder Arye Barnehama also informed us that the band should be on sale by the end of summer, though he wouldn't say for how much or where we'll be able to pick one up. Sometime after it hits store shelves, Axio plans to release an SDK so that enterprising devs can make their own focus-aiding software and implement whatever audio feedback they prefer to help them take care of business -- a dose of Bachman-Turner Overdrive ought to do the trick.
Brain wave meter knows what you're thinking, so get your mind out of the gutter (video)
A team from Keio University has built a brain scanner that knows when you're stressed, sleepy or interested. Resembling John McEnroe's headband, the device examines the frequency rather than the type of waves your noggin produces. That data, combined with the team's algorithm enables your thoughts and feelings to be examined in real time. Advertisers might want to use the tech to learn what holds our interests, but there's probably plenty of better uses we could think of -- you can come up with some yourself when you watch the footage after the break.
Cornell students steer Pong using brain waves, can't quite play during naps (video)
We here at Engadget are always fans of brain wave experiments, and so we were delighted when two Cornell University electrical engineering students, Chuck Moyes and Mengxiang Jiang, wrapped up a final project using brain waves in the best way possible: playing Pong. Their experiment links a baseball cap full of EEG-scanning electrodes to a computer, letting the cap wearer control a paddle using Alpha or Mu waves. Depending on the waves you use, you can move the paddle either by changing your concentration level or by thinking about moving your feet. You won't rack up a high score while napping (or with a teammate narrating over your shoulder), but with a budget under $75, it's hard to find fault. You can grab the source code below, and check out a video of Jiang and Moyes' handiwork after the break. [Thanks, Chuck and Mengxiang]
University of Minnesota researchers flex the mind's muscle, steer CG choppers
You've undoubtedly been told countless times by cheerleading elders that anything's possible if you put your mind to it. Turns out, those sagacious folks were spot on, although we're pretty sure this pioneering research isn't what they'd intended. A trio of biomedical engineers at the University of Minnesota have taken the realm of brain-computer interfaces a huge leap forward with a non-invasive control system -- so, no messy drills boring into skulls here. The group's innovative BCI meshes man's mental might with silicon whizzery to read and interpret sensorimotor rhythms (brain waves associated with motor control) via an electroencephalography measuring cap. By mapping these SMRs to a virtual helicopter's forward-backward and left to right movements, subjects were able to achieve "fast, accurate and continuous" three-dimensional control of the CG aircraft. The so scifi-it-borders-on-psychic tech could one day help amputees control synthetic limbs, or less nobly, helps us mentally manipulate 3D avatars. So, the future of gaming and locomotion looks to be secure, but we all know where this should really be headed -- defense tactics for the Robot Apocalypse.
Sharp FanLabs goes inside soccer fans' minds, measures loyalty with brainwaves (video)
No matter what country you're in, you'll find at least one body-painted sports nut willing to act a fool in the name of fandom. To figure out what makes these hooligans tick, Sharp's setting up trucks outside EuroCup 2012 matches to measure fans' brainwaves using biometric technology. Once inside these mobile FanLabs, volunteers will watch the game while wearing the company's NeuroSky headsets -- a super sensitive EEG that uses dry electrodes to measure cerebral activity. By looking at brainwaves, along with heart rate and vocal excitement, scientists hope to reveal what levels of attention, stress, relaxation and excitement a fan goes through while supporting a specific team. Even if you're not lending your melon to science, you can still join in the fun online, and see how you stack up against fans from around the world. So, bust out the body paint, grab your foam fingers and check out the video after the break.
Brain scanner app lets you show off your smarts on-the-go
Forget learning how to open a champagne bottle with a saber, because this smartphone brain scanner probably has it beat for coolest party trick ever. After you pull out that 14-channel EEG headset you have lying around, all you need to do is attach the probes to your date's dome piece to measure his or her neural activity on your Nokia N900. The app then goes to work, taking binary data and reconstructing it on screen in 3D. The result? A new way to elimi-date Match.com candidates based on the real-time image of his or her melon. We can't promise it'll get you a second date, but we can give you a glimpse of the app in action after the break. [Thanks, arek]
Test subjects with electrode implants use mind control to move a cursor
As trippy as mind-control still seems to us, we've already seen it implemented in everything from wheelchairs to pricey gaming (and car driving!) headsets. But the problem is that they measure brain activity outside the skull -- you know, the thing we've evolved to shield the murky goings-on in our minds from prying EEG sensors. Now, though, a team of Washington University researchers appears to have happened upon a more effective -- albeit, invasive -- approach. The researchers got some brave specimens to move a mouse cursor by implanting plastic pads containing electrodes underneath their skulls, with the sensors sitting on the surface of the brain. That, they say, gives them access to more telling, high-frequency waves that say a lot more about cognitive intentions. In the end, the subjects moved the cursors by thinking one of these sounds: "ee," "ah," "oo," and "eh." Brain-computer interfaces ain't new, of course, but the scientists say the subjects with electrode implants had more success than people wearing electrode-studded EEG caps, which could translate to less frustration for people with severe disabilities.
