One step closer to brain-controlled human / computer interfaces

Monday, October 13, 2003 by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger Editor of NaturalNews.com (See all articles...) Tags: robotics, bionic implants, brain implants

This is an excellent demonstration of the steady advance towards brain-controlled devices. But keep in mind that the robotic arm here is not really the point. It could just as easily be a computer game, a record in a database, or just a simple on/off switch. The robotic arm gives the story national interest, however, due to its innate drama. "Wow! Robotic arms controlled by monkey brains!"

I don't mean to belittle this advance, by the way. Except for the ethical issues of opening up the brains of monkeys and inserting electrode sensors as part of a robotics experiment, this is noble stuff. The interesting part is, really, that scientists have managed to "decode" brain impulses and convert them into something useful. Or perhaps the monkey had to learn how to control the arm by rewiring his own brain neurons -- similar to the way a stroke victim might need to relearn how to tie his own shoes.

The implications are enormous: brain-controlled computers, brain-controlled surgical instruments, brain-controlled military machines, biofeedback learning systems, and so on. This technology, when advanced enough, will eliminate the clunky interface that now exists between humans and computers: peoples' fingers.

That's right: fingers are a poor way to get your point across to a computer. What if you could just THINK the words instead of typing them? What if you could just move the mouse with brain power alone?

These are the important questions, because once this technology is mature, you can attach anything to it you want: a robotic arm, a car factory machine, a medical laser, a virtual world, you name it.