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Computer<->Brain Interface

Started by Tron3k May 29, 2003 at 11:43 PM 24 replies 3.7k views

Original Post

May 29, 2003 at 11:43 PM

Eventually in the future there will be a way to interface your brain directly to a computer. This could happen in our generation, so it''s up to us to figure it out! Scientists have already made blind people ''see'' by directly connecting a camera to a patch on the brain. I think this could be viable, but it requires a lot of training for our brain. Basically, you could connect anything to a spot on the brain, and your brain would eventually adapt to it. When you have mastered this skill, making a light go on and off will be simply an act of will, like moving your hand. The problem with this idea is that there is only a limited amount of space in your brain, and if you connect too many things your brain may get overloaded! The other idea is to make the computer actually figure out what you want to happen. Basically, you ''will'' the computer to turn off, and the computer analyzes your brain patterns and discovers what you want. The problem with this technique is, of course, the computer has to be as smart as you are to figure out what you want! A variation on the last idea that could possibly work is: Pre-programmed actions. (I think this is being worked on already). You have a set of pre-programmed actions like: - Turn off computer - Start MS Word (Brain Edition!) Then, you must tell the computer how your brain will request these actions. You make a recording of your brain while you ''will'' the computer to turn off, etc. The computer will store that recording. Next time you want the computer to turn off, the computer realizes that your brain signal matches the pattern it has stored, and the computer turns off. The problem with this is that your brain signal will not, of course, be exactly the same every time. Thus, the computer needs to apply some sort of pattern recognition. This problem is similar to that of speech recognition. So, what do you think?

novadragoon

May 29, 2003 at 11:47 PM

just what we need DRM for the songs we are singing in our head

Necro-File

May 29, 2003 at 11:49 PM

You just saw Ghost in the Shell didn''t you? ^_^

I have always thought about this, and it wouldn''t just be your brain you could interface it would be your whole body. You could augment it with bio-mechanical implants, have all types of nanomachines in your vains doing various things (muscle enhancment, rapid wound recovery, sensory enhancers, etc.), and so on. The problem is, just like in GitS, eventually, people would find ways to ''hack'' your body. Just remember that before you buy your bio-mechanical penis implant (a cookie to anyone to guess where that reference is from).

Sailorstick

May 29, 2003 at 11:55 PM

There will be no need for a computer, it will be implanted directly into your brain.

Tron3k

May 30, 2003 at 12:07 AM

quote:
Original post by Sailorstick
There will be no need for a computer, it will be implanted directly into your brain.

But I think there will still be a need to interface it with your brain - this would probably take the "direct link to the brain" route.

Rob Loach

May 30, 2003 at 12:42 AM

quote:
Original post by Sailorstick
There will be no need for a computer, it will be implanted directly into your brain.

A computer would be required to ''figure out'' the brain signals. Do you mean no need for a monitor?

. . .

I think the tricky part would be determining whether the user is thinking about opening up a program, and actually thinking/telling the computer to open up a program. It would be pretty neat. The next step to having out own "companion implant" (RJ Sawyer''s coin).

I remember watching something on Space about someone hooking a computer into their nerve system(s) to analize how/what the person is "feeling". I don''t know why you would want that, but it''s related to this topic...

Xtremehobo

May 30, 2003 at 12:43 AM

what we really need is to make a real matrix :D

-----

CGameProgrammer

May 30, 2003 at 12:48 AM

You guys are naive if you seriously think most people will accept directly linking their brains to technology. I''m sure that no matter how prevailent technology and computers become, there will be many people who do not wish to tinker with their brains (except to keep them alive).

~CGameProgrammer( );

Sailorstick

May 30, 2003 at 12:52 AM

quote:
Original post by Rob Loach
A computer would be required to 'figure out' the brain signals. Do you mean no need for a monitor?

Um yeah.

quote:
I think the tricky part would be determining whether the user is thinking about opening up a program, and actually thinking/telling the computer to open up a program. It would be pretty neat. The next step to having out own "companion implant" (RJ Sawyer's coin).

It probably wouldn't be much different to [u]thinking[/u] about moving your arm and actually moving it.

RIP YodaTheCoda. *wipes tear*

EDIT: what, no underline tag???

[edited by - Sailorstick on May 30, 2003 1:54:00 AM]

Rob Loach

May 30, 2003 at 12:55 AM

quote:
Original post by Xtremehobo
what we really need is to make a real matrix :D

Actually, that is a great idea.

We (Humans) could trancend to the Matrix. We would "live" forever. No more death, no more war. The next stage in the Human evolutionary life.

Rob Loach
Current Project: Go Through Object-Oriented Programming in C++ by Robert Lafore

"Do or do not. There is no try."
- Yoda

[edited by - Rob Loach on May 30, 2003 1:56:16 AM]

Rob Loach

May 30, 2003 at 1:40 AM

quote:
Original post by Rob Loach
We (Humans) could trancend to the Matrix. We would "live" forever. No more death, no more war. The next stage in the Human evolutionary life.

If you did have the ability to trancend to a new "life" inside a machine as electronics, would you?

Rob Loach
Current Project: Go Through Object-Oriented Programming in C++ by Robert Lafore

"Do or do not. There is no try."
- Yoda

The Keymaster

May 30, 2003 at 2:40 AM

I would, if everybody else was going.

Anyway, couldn''t we use our brain as coprocessors? I wonder how many flops per second a human brain could do?

Jamie7

May 30, 2003 at 6:44 AM

quote:
Original post by The Keymaster
I would, if everybody else was going.

Anyway, couldn''t we use our brain as coprocessors? I wonder how many flops per second a human brain could do?

Peer Pressure eh?

Jesper T

May 30, 2003 at 6:53 AM

This kind of technology would be a dangerous tool if it got into the hands of the wrong governments..

En Dum En

May 30, 2003 at 7:07 AM

Oh the POSSIBILITES!!! I WOULD MAKE A VIRUS!!!

Zefrieg

May 30, 2003 at 7:20 AM

I think it would be better to have the system hook into various nerves such as the optic nerves. It would be much easier to have a machine interface with individual nerves than the entire brain.

If you have ever seen Star Trek: The Next Generation, this is how Jordie''s(The blind one) setup was like. He had input ports on the side of his head that his visual device connected to. Those connected to his optic nerves.

The fact is, the machine doesn''t have to know what you are thinking. It just has to react to the messages that are being sent though your nerves. Then, it has to stimulate your nevers to provide some kind of feedback for your senses.

It isn''t like you need cables running out of your body or anything. These interface devices could be implanted in your body, and they could communicate wirelessly. Just think, these devices could be used to create a communication network similar to the internet. Though, instead of having to use a computer, we could use our minds to communicate and display messages. We would do this through our nerves.

Input could be done through nerves, but I am unsure what the best way to do output would be. Most likely, it would probably end up being through touch sensors in your fingertips. This would be the most probable place, because we associate the use of many things with our hands. You would probably be able to type in air to output messages, or to even interface with the systems implanted in your body.

Technology such as this would probably be possible in the next 40 years, though I would doubt that it would be used in this manner. I''m just saying that we will have probably reached the capability to do such a thing.

nes8bit

May 30, 2003 at 8:33 AM

quote:
Original post by Necro-File
You just saw Ghost in the Shell didn''t you? ^_^

Don''t you mean the...nevermind. I''m outta here. I need sleep.

-------------------------------------------------
"Where''s ma pus..." - Link (The Matrix: Reloaded)

Peon

May 30, 2003 at 9:24 AM

What would happen if you needed to make a hardware upgrade? Certainly, in the span of a person''s life (up to 100 years, potentially) technology would change to a degree that old harware would become obsolete.

rhesus

May 30, 2003 at 9:42 AM

quote:
Original post by Zefrieg

It isn't like you need cables running out of your body or anything. These interface devices could be implanted in your body, and they could communicate wirelessly. Just think, these devices could be used to create a communication network similar to the internet. Though, instead of having to use a computer, we could use our minds to communicate and display messages. We would do this through our nerves.

This would be terrible if people could not control packets sent/received like in a firewall.
There is first the radioactive stuff that diminishes quickly, that is put into the brain/blood-stream. And those magnetic tubes that give information about brain activity but what happens when one can possibly one day read one's thoughts with similiar stuff (this sounds more complicated than for example the thing with the blind guys brain adapting to a cameras signals) . Then someone will invent something that can scan peoples thoughts from a distance. We all must prepare to wear old military surplus steelhelmets

[edited by - rhesus on May 30, 2003 10:43:07 AM]

Rob Loach

May 30, 2003 at 10:11 AM

quote:
Original post by Peon
What would happen if you needed to make a hardware upgrade? Certainly, in the span of a person''s life (up to 100 years, potentially) technology would change to a degree that old harware would become obsolete.

There is a technology currently in development at the University of Toronto called "reprogrammable hardware". They program in the code, tell the hardware how they should circuit itself, and the circuits change to acompany those demanded changes. I saw them do this with AI to detect someone''s face in a picture. They put the AI to detect the face in to the reprogrammable hardware and hooked it up to a camera. Whenever it saw someone''s face, it put the maker''s face in place of it. It was actually quite funny to watch.

quote:
Original post by Jesper T
This kind of technology would be a dangerous tool if it got into the hands of the wrong governments..

We are talking for the good of the whole human race. Not the good of one government. The only people who would have a problem with it (I think) are the hardcore religous people.

quote:
Original post by Zefrieg
Technology such as this would probably be possible in the next 40 years, though I would doubt that it would be used in this manner. I''m just saying that we will have probably reached the capability to do such a thing.

Very true. My brother is in a course in U of T and they are currently talking about microcomputers in the medical aspect. The micro-robot could go in, kill a virus or something, while being controled from outside the patient. Combined with that computer that could analyze nerves, we aren''t that far off. Very exciting times I must say.

quote:
Original post by En Dum En
Oh the POSSIBILITES!!! I WOULD MAKE A VIRUS!!!

People like you are why technology sometimes fails its purpose.

Rob Loach
Current Project: Go Through Object-Oriented Programming in C++ by Robert Lafore

"Do or do not. There is no try."
- Yoda

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