The Mary Sue

Wireless Brain Implant Could Help Patients Control Computers Using Their Minds

by Ian Chant Feb 28th

Rats aren't the only ones getting brain implants that help them communicate this morning. Researchers at Brown University are touting the latest developments they've made in a neural implant developed to improve brain computer interfaces (BCI), and while it's not the first of it's kind, it's a pretty sterling example of the tech. The rechargeable, low-power implant can read activity in up to 100 neurons in the brain and then transmit that activity wirelessly as a signal that can record neural activity. One day, it could even help people suffering from paralysis control action on a computer using their thoughts.

To Pilot A Thought-Controlled Spaceship, Two Heads Are Better Than One

by Ian Chant Feb 6th

While it may disappoint many of us, it will surprise no one that steering a spaceship is complicated business. So it stands to follow that steering a spaceship using only your brain is even more complicated. A collaborative study by NASA and the University of Essex shows that the difficulties of piloting a virtual spaceship through a brain/computer interface can be eased by introducing a co-pilot -- and performing what amounts to a mind-meld between both operators.

Robot Controlled By Brain Waves Could Put You In An Awesome Android Body

by Ian Chant Nov 14th

Researchers at the CNRS-AIST Joint Robotics Laboratory just released this new video of a robot controlled by human brainwaves -- you think, and it acts. While it's in the early stages, this research puts us one step closer to leaving our pitiful meat suits behind and moving to a future where be bicker and complain at one another through indestructible robot bodies. We can't wait.

Get Out of My Head: Commercial Technology Capable of Plucking Secrets From Your Brain

by Ian Chant Aug 27th

Ready for your life to be more like a dystopian sci-fi novel in all the worst ways? Well, science doesn't care if you're ready. Brainwave scanning consumer electronics designed for gaming can be hacked to read other brainwaves, potentially revealing your secrets by pulling them directly from your brain. Researchers have already modified the brain-computer interface (BCI) devices -- like the EPOC, pictured above -- to poke around in brainwaves that signify recognition, letting them know when you recognize a face, number, or address, even if you're telling them you don't.

Computer Interface That Types With Brain Waves Makes Commercial Debut

by Robert Quigley Mar 8th

The Intendix is a new brain-computer interface that allows patients with locked-in syndrome and other incapacitating disabilities to type using thought alone: One fixates one's attention on a block of letters, the system scrolls through that block, and when one arrives at the letter they want, brain waves peak, the computer types that letter, and it moves on to the next letter for selection. Expert Intendix users will be able to type as fast as one word per second.

The Intendix retails for about $12,300; according to Singularity Hub, while "Intendix isn’t cheap, but it’s the first thought to type system available that’s geared towards easy to setup personal use in the home."

It's a fascinating thing to see in action. Demo video after the jump: