Hugh Pickens writes "Time Magazine reports on a $4 million US Army contract to begin developing "thought helmets" to harness silent brain waves for secure communication among troops that the Army hopes will "lead to direct mental control of military systems by thought alone." The Army's initial goal is to capture brain waves with software that translates the waves into audible radio messages for other troops in the field. "It'd be radio without a microphone," says Dr. Elmar Schmeisser, the Army neuroscientist overseeing the program. "Because soldiers are already trained to talk in clean, clear and formulaic ways, it would be a very small step to have them think that way." The key challenge will be to develop software able to pinpoint speech-related brain waves and pick them up with a 128-sensor array that ultimately will be buried inside a helmet. Scientists deny charges that they're messing with soldiers' minds. "A lot of people interpret wires coming out of the head as some sort of mind reading," says Dr. Mike D'Zmura. "But there's no way you can get there from here" One potential civilan spin-off: a Bluetooth Helmet so people around you can't hear you when you talk on your cell phone."
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What a great _idea_! (Score:1)
Hail Eris!
I can see it now... ## = thoughts.
#AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!! AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!...#
#I'm HIT! I'm HIT! I"m HIT! ohmygodidontwannadieidontwannadie...#
#I'm gonna frag 'im. I'm gonna frag the CO. He got us into this mess, and we're all gonna die anyway.#
#I miss my mother. I'm gonna die.#
Just one person thinking about how he's going to die would affect everyone else, unavoidably, especially in cases where it'd be really true.