Speak With Your Mind

One of the most awesome lines of research in the area of electronic mind reading is the attempt to translate brain signals into speech. I think this idea is so neat not only for what it actually is, but what it represents.

On Science Daily today there is a report about a team from University of Utah that has managed to translate the signals from a volunteers speech cortex into words with a success rate greater than chance. This isn't yet anywhere close to a useful system. But the progression of the technology is obvious and the problems will be solved. Whats also neat here is that the electrodes used to do the brain reading were on the surface of the brain and therefore did not need to enter the brain in any way. This does seem to be the way this kind of technology is moving. There are already systems that allow for the reading of brain waves via external electrodes placed in a cap on the head. It's just a matter of sensitivity. The sensitivity required for speech applications is much greater than other types of this technology. But this is all just a matter of time. These problems will be overcome.

The researches at this stage are concentrating on just a few words. 10 to be exact. Words that may be of the most use to disabled persons who can't speak. Yes, no, hot, cold, hungry, thirsty, hello, goodbye, more and less. This brings me round to the applications of this technology. The most obvious of which I think is the ability for patients that are 'locked in' to communicate. Locked in patients are people that are conscious but have some disability that prevents them from communicating with the world. Can you imagine? Being fully aware but unable to communicate. Being able to give these people the ability to speak, if even in a very limited capacity, would be fantastic! It's coming.     

Jumping over to what this type of technology represents. The idea that brain waves can be read and translated to almost anything would open up so many possibilities for a whole new branch of tech. Think about a hat you can wear that would allow you to wirelessly communicate with your TV, computer, stereo, cell phone. This stuff is along way off. But I find my enthusiasm for this stuff is hard to contain. It's just so easy to let the mind wander and speculate wildly about the future applications of this technology. Long term progression of technology and it's applications are impossible to predict. But man it's fun to try. I guess in the short term I'll just be happy with allowing disabled people to speak.