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Paralyzed man regains use of arms thanks to 'wireless spinal cord'
Remember that paralyzed guy from Southern California who managed to walk on his own accord thanks to a revolutionary technique that bridged the gap in his severed spinal column with a wireless Bluetooth link? A team of doctors at Ohio's Case Western Reserve University have reportedly accomplished the same feat with a patient's arms.
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.
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.
UCLA / Caltech researchers help patients move mouse cursors with their brains
It's certainly not a revolutionary new concept -- whiz kids have been tinkering with brain-controlled interfaces for years on end -- but a collaboration between UCLA scientists and colleagues from the California Institute of Technology has taken the idea one leap closer to commercialization. Itzhak Fried, a professor of neurosurgery at UCLA, kept a close watch (via embedded electrodes) on how a dozen humans reacted to certain images, and eventually, Fried and co. were able to show that Earthlings can "regulate the activity of their neurons to intentionally alter the outcome of stimulation." In other words, they were able to move a mouse cursor with just their mind, and brighten a test image with a 70 percent success rate. By honing the process of controlling what actions occur when focused on a given subject (or input peripheral), it opens up the possibility for paralyzed individuals to not only check their email, but also control prosthetic limbs. It's hard to say when this stuff will be put to good use outside of a hospital, but the video after the break definitely makes us long for "sooner" rather than "later."
Thought-control research brings mental channel changing ever closer
Pinky and the Brain don't get nearly the respect they deserve, but then again, neither do the lab coat-wearing boffins who make great strides behind sterilized doors to bring us one step closer to mass laziness. The latest development in the everlasting brain control saga takes us to the University of Washington, where a team of researchers are carefully studying the differences between doing an action and simply imagining the action. So far, they've discovered that interacting with brain-computer interfaces enables patients to create "super-active populations of brain cells." Naturally, this finding holds promise for rehabilitating patients after stroke or other neurological damage, but it also suggests that "a human brain could quickly become adept at manipulating an external device such as a computer interface or a prosthetic limb." Or a remote control, or a Segway, or a railgun. We can't speak for you, but we certainly dig where this is headed. Video of the findings is after the break.
Twitter-brain interface offers terrifying vision of the future
We'll be honest, we're always on the lookout for faster and better ways to annoy our Twitter followers with hopelessly mundane status updates, and this brain-control interface from the University of Wisconsin's Adam Wilson seems to be the perfect to get all Scoble on it with a minimum of effort -- you think it, you tweet it. Okay okay, we kid -- it's actually just the usual brainwave-control setup you've seen everywhere, and the average user can only do ten characters a minute, but think of the potential, people. Soon everyone will know that you are "Walking on sidewalk, LOL" almost the second you think it, and all it will take is a mindreading cap paired with a sophisticated computers running an advanced signal processing algorithm connected to the massive infrastructure of the internet via a multibillion-dollar mobile broadband network. That's progress. Video after the break.[Via Hack A Day]
Mind reading gets closer to real thanks to Canadian scientists
Hate to break it to you, but that clairvoyant you've been paying daily to read you fortune cookies while blindfolded actually isn't some sort of medium. Tough to swallow, we know. That said, researchers at Canada's largest children's rehabilitation hospital are getting closer to equipping entrepreneurial individuals with the tools they need to read minds. By measuring the intensity of near-infrared light absorbed in brain tissue, scientists were able to decode a person's preference for one of two drinks with 80 percent accuracy, all without a single minute of training on the human's behalf. This research gives promise to finding out true feelings of those who can't speak or move due to physical limitations, though there's no word on how close it is to becoming viable outside of a lab. As an aside, we hear Professor X is pretty perturbed.
USF scientists develop brainwave controlled wheel chair
Those crazy kids at the University of South Florida are at it again -- they've given us 'intelligent' scarecrows and engaged an RFID network in the fight against Alzheimer's, and now they're doing some rather interesting work with the Brain-Computer Interface (BCI). The device uses an electrode-covered head cap to capture P-300 brainwave responses and convert them into action, such as "typing" or manipulating a robotic finger. The team has developed a motorized "smart wheelchair" that allows users to pilot the chair and even control a robotic arm without any physical movement whatsoever. USF researchers say that this will be a great help not only for those with special needs, but also for the extremely lazy.[Via MedGadget]
"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]
OCZ's Neural Impulse Actuator gets reviewed, mice everywhere safe for now
We tried to take OCZ's Neural Impulse Actuator seriously, we really did. But unable to suppress those recurring images of Geordi La Forge, we simply couldn't help ourselves from having a laugh at this thing's expense. Nevertheless, the way-more-solemn dudes and dudettes over at HotHardware managed to give this brain-computer interface a fair shake, and overall, it was pretty impressed. Still, the bottom line is this: "the NIA is a very unique input device and possibly the first true brain-computer interface to hit the retail market," but it's not "a replacement for traditional input methods." Granted, critics did point out that it would supplement current devices quite well, but only after "slogging through" hours upon hours of training. The hardcore among us may be willing to put in the time necessary to really get a lot out of this; for everyone else, just continue to point and laugh while masking your ignorance.
Researchers devise neural implant that learns over time
Brain-machine interfaces have done quite a bit in helping handicapped individuals interact with prosthetic limbs, computers and other humans, but a new neural implant concocted at the University of Florida could make all those past devices look archaic. Put simply, researchers have discovered a method that would enable brain-machine interfaces to "adapt to a person's behavior over time and use the knowledge to help complete a task more efficiently." Until now, the brain was the instrument doing all the talking while the computer simply accepted commands; with this method, "the computer could have a say in that conversation, too." In all seriousness, this type of learning mechanism could be game-changing in the world of physical therapy, but we hesitate to give something mechanical inside of our body too much free will, ya dig?[Via Physorg]
German scientists develop nerdiest brain-computer interface yet
Brain-computer interfaces have been popping up left and right lately, but the latest system from Germany's Technical University of Braunschweig, might be the silliest one we've seen so far. While the system doesn't involve the careful placement of electrodes, it does require you to don a large metal helmet fitted with sensors, which can even detect brain activity through hair -- and makes you look like Magneto on a bad day. The system is solid enough to allow test subjects to control an RC car and researchers say the tech is similarly applicable to wheelchairs and prosthetics. Yeah, that's great -- we'll stick with the dangerous neurosurgery implantation over this contraption, guys. Video after the break.
New brain control development could help quadriplegics get around
Sure, we've seen brain power used to give mobility back to the immobile, but a new development in Europe is one-upping current efforts by adding in a hint of artificial intelligence to the tried and true brain-computer interface. The MAIA BCI not only converts signals emitted by the brain into actions -- such moving a wheelchair forward -- it also thinks for itself when needed in order to assist the user in getting where he / she wants to go. Essentially, the individual need only think about going left or forward (for example), and the machine itself will automatically detect obstacles and potential barriers in order to move more efficiently. As it stands, there's still quite a bit of testing to be done before MAIA-based wheelchairs would be available to the public, but researchers are already hoping to integrate said technology into artificial limbs and the like.[Via Physorg]
GDC08: Emotiv 'brain control' headset shows its kinks
"I think we found a bug," mocked an audience member during an embarrassing lapse in the presentation, one of countless hiccups that marred Emotiv's would-be grand unveiling of the "world's first consumer 'Brain Computer Interface'" (not "Brain Control Interface," as the press invite alluringly stated). Spunky CEO Nam Do kicked things off with a burst of energy, firing off adjectives like "super cool" and "uber-cool" to describe his company's 'next generation human-machine,' a conscious and non-conscious processor with a three-part 'total communication' interface: affectiv, expressiv and cognitiv. Clearly, something was missing. Nam explained that the machine could read feeling and emotion, things that "distinguish us from humans ... er, computers!" An assistant, Marco, entered stage right sporting Emotiv's neuro-headset, a mess of tentacled sensors wrapped around his temple, as Nam introduced Marco's virtual counterpart, Emobot. A robot head with a cute, round face began to mimic Marco's facial expressions on a large screen behind Nam. "Look cute, look cute," goaded Nam, and Marco and the Emobot responded, blinking their eyes and pursing their lips. Emobot followed along for a few more moments before freezing up -- and it was onto the next demonstration. Nam pressed Marco to "think of something, and make it happen" by manipulating a three-dimensional cube now occupying the center screen. A simple 'zoom' command seemingly worked, but when told to mind-push the cube along multiple axes, Marco failed. "Weak mind, weak mind," teased Nam, warding off the inevitable tension. He filled the pause with pseudo-science, something about electrical impulses converted into an image of thought within a roughly 90,000-dimensional space. (90,000 dimensions? Had we heard that right?) Marco was still squeezing his eyes shut, carefully molding thoughts with his hands. Still nothing ... and then ... the cube spun briefly to life. "You feeling okay to do the risky one?" Nam asked. (No, it was not a question.) %Gallery-16463%
Your MMO, your brain and your computer
Brain Computer Interfaces - these last 15 years or so, they've carried the slick acronym of BCI. Over at Keio University in Tokyo, the Biomedical Engineering Lab they're working on non-invasive BCI systems which may 'eventually' become mass-market input devices. The question is - does the gaming and MMO world actually want them? Lord knows, gamers didn't back in the 1980s when a variety of these devices were on the market.
Thought-based biometrics system underway?
Seems kind of old school if your brain interface doesn't provide extra-sensory enhancement or integration to robotic limbs, but researchers at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada are working on a system for thought-based biometrics by scanning and interpreting each individual's unique brain-wave signatures that occur when they think of a certain thought or can identify patterns uniquely -- kind of like that Peter Pan pixie dust thing, except in this case you get granted access to your box. For a variety of reasons the system isn't without its doubts and detractors, and will probably continue to have them so long as you have to wear an EEG cap on your scalp to get a reading -- though according to UCLA professor and BCI expert Jacques Vidal, rocking that headgear's the least of this system's problems. But if you expect us to shrug off any system that lets us interface with our gear via mind-link, you're sorely mistaken. So keep at it Carleton U, let's see some thought scanners.
