#computer-brain interface

[chroniclesofachemist]

The Neurologist Who Hacked His Brain—And Almost Lost His Mind

Neurologist Phil Kennedy set out to build the ultimate brain-computer interface. In the process he almost lost his mind.

I respect scientists who understand the risks to self of their research and continue ahead regardless. I hope Kennedy ends up with a footnote or page in the science textbooks of the future.

[chroniclesofachemist]

Help make Brain-Computer Interfaces more common place.

Brain-computer interfaces have SO many applications, I can't even be bothered to list them. I don't even need to. Just look at the damn page and consider funding this project.

[newstfionline]

Drawing the Line on Altering Human Minds

By Nick Bilton, NY Times, August 6, 2013

In my column this week, "Computer-Brain Interfaces Making Big Leaps," I noted that a number of researchers and scientists were coming closer to technology usually reserved for science fiction: hacking our brains to remove unwanted and sad memories.

Although the idea of deleting a memory might sound appealing to some--who doesn't want to forget that first heartbreak?--it might have disastrous consequences for our brains. It's one thing to digitally enhance our memories with gadgets like iPhones and Google Glass, it's something entirely different to delete or change past memories using technology.

Some readers asked if this was taking technology too far, saying such advancements cross a moral or ethical line that science should not pass.

"The human brain is intricate and a lot of damage can occur," warned Jolan from Brooklyn in a comment on the column.

"If science wants to play with people's thinking, then they ought to first decide about moral and ethical values of who they work for and the consequences of their actions," wrote Mr. Magoo 5 from North Carolina.

Given today's surveillance society, where the National Security Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation and countless foreign governments monitor communications, connecting our brains and thoughts to the Internet might be asking for even more government trouble.

"What a mess that would be. Can you imagine N.S.A. hoovering up your thoughts from the Internet?" wrote Maurie Beck, from Encino, Calif.

"A hacker's dream?" wrote another commentator. These types of hacks could start to resemble the government surveillance under "Big Brother" in George Orwell's famous book "1984."

But beyond the surveillance and ethical implications of hacking our brains and our memories, the biggest outcry from readers came in the form of philosophical worry.

"Forgetting your mistakes can be fatal," wrote John B, a reader from Virginia.

"If our brains are wired, like computers are then, our minds will no longer have privacy," wrote an anonymous reader. "The person I just met will be able to enter my head and know what I am thinking, possibly without me knowing. My joys and phobias would be public domain. That would make life very, very unpleasant for everyone."

"A pacemaker is one thing. A cochlear implant sounds useful," wrote SRSwain from Costa Rica. "A spinal cord bypass to operate prosthetic limbs, or superacute hearing and vision, but magical transformation of memories and sensoria: No thanks."

[txchnologist]

Mind-Controlled Robots: Scientists Fly Copter With Thought

by Michael Keller

Researchers have successfully piloted a remote-controlled helicopter using thought. After about 12 hours of training, volunteers were able to  maneuver a small quadrotor through more than 90 percent of challenges in a sophisticated obstacle course.

University of Minnesota biomedical engineers created a noninvasive computer-brain interface that interprets thoughts about movement into flight instructions the drone acts upon. The interface is comprised of a standard sensor-studded electroencephalogram (EEG) cap, which is used to detect electrical impulses in the brain, connected to a computer that interprets the signal and beams directions wirelessly to the robot.

Goal: restore function for disabled people

He says the goal of his team’s work is to develop technology to help disabled people complete tasks they would otherwise be unable to do. “The ability to interact with the environment through exploration of the three-dimensional world is an important component of the autonomy that is lost when one suffers a paralyzing neurodegenerative disorder, and is one that can have a dramatic impact on quality of life,” they write in their paper published June 4 in the Journal of Neural Engineering.

They hope their work will one day lead to paralyzed patients being able to control artificial limbs, wheelchairs or other devices with their thoughts.

Five test subjects put on the EEG cap, which allowed 64 electrodes to make contact with their scalps. They were trained to imagine they were making different movements, each of which was translated by a computer connected to the cap into a flight instruction that was sent to the quadcopter through a wireless connection. If a person imagined he was making a fist with his right hand, for instance, his brain’s motor cortex generated a specific electrical signal. The cap picked up this tiny impulse, which is millions of times smaller than a volt, and the computer interpreted this into an instruction for the helicopter to turn right. Imagining he was clenching both fists meant a signal for the helicopter to go up, and so on.

After going through a few rounds of training, the testers piloted the quadrotor through an obstacle course of suspended lightweight foam rings whose internal diameter was 7.5 feet. While the highest achieving volunteer successfully maneuvered 90.5 percent of challenges, the five together averaged more than 80 percent success, a rate that He called “quite reasonable.”

“The subjects needed to move around a three-dimensional space and to pilot through these suspended rings without crashing,” He says. “It required lots of complex movements.”

In their report, the team wrote that they found subjects performed better because maneuvering through the course required them to focus on both target acquisition and obstacle avoidance. “By a balance of positive and negative motivators, higher performance in the task, and the real risk of crash, subjects were compelled to higher levels of performance and remained engaged in the experimental task,” they wrote. “Such a balance will be crucial in determining the limits of brain-computer interfaces.”

More to come

While their experimental cap captured brain impulses through 64 sensors to gather an abundance of data, He says the contacts with the head will eventually number just a couple of electrodes. One day, the entire interface may even run through one or more temporary electronic tattoos worn by the user.

Now that they have demonstrated the interface’s potential, He says his research group will focus on creating specific applications to control robotic arms and prosthetics with thought.

“We’ve made a big step, but there are still a lot of challenges ahead,” He says. “My interest is looking at restoring lost function to disable patients, but there could be applications to the broader healthy population to enhance their lives. You could use thought to control your TV--this research gives us the freedom to explore something more.”