What if you could control gadgets and open apps using the power of your thoughts? Won’t you feel like a superhuman? Yes, there’s a patent by Microsoft that’s making it possible. (29 June 2018)
Users may launch and operate several apps and gadgets with just their minds. The device comes with a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) that decodes electrical signals from the brain. And then it launches and operates different gadgets.
With the help of special headbands, on a click or push of a button, the device could detect when someone needs a swipe.
The device could decode a brain’s electroencephalogram signal (EEG).
EEG is an electrophysiological monitoring method used to record the electrical activity of one’s brain. Usually, it is performed with electrodes that are placed along the scalp. Further, EEG measures voltage fluctuations that result from ionic current within the neurons.
Novel feature: The BCI project in Microsoft Research is working towards enabling the BCI for people like you and me. With this, we can expect non-intrusive methods, the fewer number of electrodes, and customized signal picking devices.
Furthermore, moving towards interactive BCI means response times within seconds and using EEG signals.
Interestingly, BCI measures central nervous systems (CNS) activity and then converts it into the artificial output. BCI is the direct communication bridge between a brain and an external device.
With that, the most promising applications include augmenting the UI of augmented or VR/AR glasses with BCI components.
Amidst this rapid innovation, how can Facebook remain behind! Let us look at what’s on Facebook’s mind!
Facebook wants to make thought-hearing glasses (June 2020)
Sounds like a science-fiction technology, no? But it’s a real technology that researchers at MIT have been working on for years. It includes using sensors to literally hear the words you say in your head. And then turning that information into computer-readable data.
Facebook is known for exploring the world of brain-computer interfaces broad manner. The social media giant recently filed a patent on smart glasses with “subvocalized speech recognition”.
Also known as SVR, it is the process of taking subvocalization and converting the detected results to a digital output.
Novel feature: The device comes with several sensors on the glasses with one near the ears. This apparently can detect changes in brain activity.
The patent filing for the glasses also shows more typical features like a built-in camera and mc on the frames. With that, the lens which doubles as a display, and some control buttons on the sides are also present.
It seems Facebook is thinking 2 steps ahead of its competitors. Here’s why!
Facebook is developing a device that would reflect a person’s thoughts onto a computer screen using a brain-machine interface. (July 2019)
The paper published in Nature Communications reveals how a headset can decode brain activity to instantly transcribe what a person is thinking in a textual form on a screen.
The algorithm that decodes the activity can currently only recognize a small set of words or phrases. But Facebook said that its non-invasive, wearable device could one day allow people with paralysis to communicate.
Also, the technology could transform the utility of augmented reality glasses and virtual reality headsets through thought-based controls.
“Being able to identify even a handful of imagined commands like ‘home’, ‘select’, ‘delete’ would deliver fully novel ways of interacting with today’s VR systems (including AR glasses)”. Facebook wrote in a blog post describing the brain-computer interface device.
Novel feature: Facebook’s invention is non-invasive and doesn’t require any form of surgery. Instead, it works by measuring brain activity from receivers place around a human’s head.
