Mind-Control Coming To A Computer Near You?

New technology is something easy to come by at the world’s largest technology fair, CeBit, and a new innovative thing that has sprung up is a cap that is attached to the head. What does this cap do?

         Well it is a cap full of electrodes attached to the head, which as it was at the fair was used to play pinball hands free. The cap enables usage of machinery such as the pinball machine by brain....

"He thinks: left-hand or right-hand and the electrodes monitor the brain waves associated with that thought, send the information to a computer, which then moves the flippers,"

says Michael Tangermann of Berlin Brain Computer Interface. Even though this kind of technology can be used for fun thing like pinball, it opens up a whole new door to possibilities.

So scientists have already started researching ways it could help in automobiles, like monitoring brainwaves to help reaction time in instances like car crashes.  In actual emergencies brainwaves are to slow to react, giving a 200 milliseconds period before the person could even slam on the brakes.

This however does not persuade scientists to have the car auto-brake for the driver, but Tangermann said, "there are various things the car can do in that crucial time, tighten the seat belt, for example."

Another way this technology could be useful is that the car could tell if the driver was sleepy and therefore immediately alerting the driver to pull over and take a break.

         Another similar technology to this was seen at a different booth at the fair. A man wearing a similar device on his head was at a screen where letters appeared, flashing.

In this instance the man would concentrate on the letter and his brain would at the time of stimulation, register the letter and make it appear on the computer screen.

This technology’s production is going slow though, for it took the man four minutes to write a five letter word but scientists are optimistic about making this more advanced.

       Yet another device featured was of people controlling robots with their minds. What the user does is concentrates on flashing lights from a little box with four different lights on each compass point. When the user concentrates on a light on a certain side of the box, the robot will move in that direction.

       As of now this technology is being perfected to concentrate on people with different disabilities. It would allow them to operate certain devices with their brains such as wheelchairs, turning on television sets with out getting up and opening doors with mind control.

Source: redorbit