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Biotech Science Technology

Brain-Implanted Chips Allow Control of Technology 277

Posted by Zonk from the scanners dept.
Nilchii writes "The Guardian has an article about implanting electrodes in the brain, allowing paralyzed people to control various software-integrated devices, such as the cursor on a computer and the channel and volume of his television. From the article: 'The experiment took place a few months ago as part of a broader trial into what are known in the business as brain-computer interfaces. Although it is early days, aficionados of the technology see a world where brain implants return ability to those with disability, allowing them to control all manner of devices by thought alone.'" The BBC has coverage of this as well, and we've mentioned this research before.
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Brain-Implanted Chips Allow Control of Technology More

Brain-Implanted Chips Allow Control of Technology

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  • Well (Score:4, Interesting)

    by beatdown ( 788583 ) * on Thursday March 31, 2005 @12:55PM (#12101764)
    This may sound like a joke, but I'm concerned about the time when the chip is used to control you.
  • Johnny Mnemonic!

  • Hmmm... (Score:2, Funny)

    by nm0n ( 720057 )
    Two words: Lawnmower Man

  • hmm (Score:5, Funny)

    by Sv-Manowar ( 772313 ) on Thursday March 31, 2005 @12:57PM (#12101799) Homepage Journal
    It's all well and good until the Blue Screen and you can't move your arms

  • Rather than the TV volume... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Gibble ( 514795 ) on Thursday March 31, 2005 @01:00PM (#12101828) Homepage
    Why not make it capable of controlling robotic limbs, etc...things that are more useful than the volume of your tv?
    • The same reason why there is no knob on new TVs... ...at least I assume that's why...
    • Thats one of the ideas behind this technology. However, technologically speaking, its a lot easier to program a chip to:

      If Brain = tvon Then 'Think about turning tv on
      TV = True ' Turn TV on
      End If

      then

      If Brain = tvon Then 'Think about turning tv on
      Do While EYES = toolow 'check location of hand relative to button & adjust
      RIGHTARM = Forward
      RIGHTARM = Up
      cin EYES
      Loop
      INDEXFINGER = Extend 'reach for button
      RIGHTARM =Forward 'press button
      End If

      Which is an extreme simplification of the process, but

    • Exactly what I was thinking. I want a 3rd (and possibly 4th) arm. THAT would be cool. Especially if one had a laer on it! Come to think of it, I could use it to control a shark - with a laser on it's head!

      But, on a more practical side... This process is obviously far from perfect. If the whole thing went crazy, the worst thing would be having your TV stuck on the spanish channel at full blast :(

      On the other hand, with a robot arm, some serious bodily injury could occur. Even a weak arm could have enough strength to poke your eye out. If somebody was using their fancy arm to slice a tomato, one slip could prove fatal.

      Still, I suspect that this will be eventually done if this technique works. But it will take time, lots of legal waivers, and a lot of insurance.
    • Why not make it capable of controlling robotic limbs, etc...things that are more useful than the volume of your tv?

      That's the whole f'n point of the article. Go read it instead of posting stupid questions.

    • Why not make it capable of controlling robotic limbs, etc...things that are more useful than the volume of your tv?

      Because even if they did, some people still wouldn't RTFA.

      From the first two paragraphs of TFA:

      There's a hand lying on the blanket on Matt Nagle's desk and he's staring at it intently, thinking "Close, close," as the scientists gathered around him look on. To their delight, the hand twitches and its outstretched fingers close around the open palm, clenching to a fist.

      In that moment, Nagle

    • You have to start -somewhere- : Controlling robotic limbs will require much more sophistication than turning the volume up/down.
    • If the brain can be easily connected to robotic limbs or other devices, what does it take for the brain to live outside of a body? Could a brain be attached to a machine that feeds it with blood, just like a normal heart would do? would then a brain 'exist' just like a normal body?...I know, the thought is scary, let alone the prospect, but as a society, we are going to face the moral and ethical dillemma sooner or later.
    • One step at a time...the capabilities of the front-end need to be explored first. We know a consistent signal can be gotten for months, but how stable is it over time? How do you effectively couple it as an external control system?

      With respect to having it control prosthetics, the robot arm is the easy part. The hard part is feedback. This is already well-known from prosthetic arms controlled with other signals. The arm input signal isn't so hard, but humans lose a lot of capability without feedback, and

  • remote control future? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by brammo ( 795381 )
    Why not use it when you're not paralyzed? I think it is _very_ handy for turning the coffee machine on when you're in bed.. :-D

    I have a dream...


    or will this turn on about anything at the press of a finger? seems scary
    • I have a dream...

      It's interesting that you mention dreams. How many people fall asleep while watching TV; moreover: how many people have lucid dreams wherein they're interacting with daily objects?

      "I had this dream where I just kept flipping channels, but on the coffeemaker, and the washing machine became a monster, so I turned on the sprinkler system to short it out..." R.E.M.- but for user input of actual devices? Sounds like the first priority is detecting levels of conciousness so that they're awar

  • DRM out of control (Score:5, Funny)

    by gordlea ( 258731 ) <jgordonlea@IIIgm ... inus threevowels> on Thursday March 31, 2005 @01:00PM (#12101830)

    When I first read the headline I thought to myself "Man, this DRM crap is really getting out of hand..."

  • I have a feeling... (Score:2, Interesting)

    by ScislaC ( 827506 )
    people that don't need this will get it and we'll all get a whole lot lazier... reading slahdot without lifting a finger? sounds good to me!

  • That's just great (Score:5, Funny)

    by ntshma ( 864614 ) on Thursday March 31, 2005 @01:01PM (#12101842)
    Now you'll be able to get hacked and become part of some script kiddies zombie network yelling spam at everyone you walk past.
  • I want brain control over a portable tesla coil, or maybe a Jacob's ladder.

    Yes! I'm talking to you.
  • The thalamus relays all our sensory information (except for smell). It is also involved in mediating interactions between different areas of the cortex. If we can get input/output devices into the thalamus, you might well have The Matrix.

  • Real World Application ??? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by with_him ( 815684 ) on Thursday March 31, 2005 @01:03PM (#12101876)
    I believe that this could be a great thing, but do we need implants? Why can't we refine brain wave scanning? In the future, how will we power these systems? I don't want people to open my skull every two years to change my battery! A nural net or something that rests on the scalp would be a less invasive and possibly better solution. Some who knows more about this than me please comment.
    • My father works at Rush-Presbyterian in Chicago doing neurological monitoring for surgeries. There have been a lot of advances in using MagStim to detect motor neuron path issues, plus using it to treat behavioral and degenerative conditions.

      There's also some companies that are looking into ways to lessen the amount of invasive procedures, but as of yet they're not mainstream AFAIK.

      http://www.neurotechreports.com/pages/neurosurgery .html [neurotechreports.com]

      From TFA:

      "In January, Stereotaxis received FDA approval for i

  • This is just screaming for it..... (Score:3, Funny)

    by RPI Geek ( 640282 ) on Thursday March 31, 2005 @01:04PM (#12101884) Journal
    In Soviet Russia, technology controls you!

  • The major problem with this ... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by PxM ( 855264 ) on Thursday March 31, 2005 @01:05PM (#12101888)
    is that they require a surgical procedure which makes it risky at the moment and hard to reverse. While it's good for disabled patients (until we can biologically fix neural damage) it's still not the magic neural link that some geeks want it to be. The more interesting research with alternative interfaces comes from tech like subvocalization and other virtual input that NASA is working on [trnmag.com]. This includes movement recognition where sensors on the surface of the skin (no surgery required) can pick up subtle gestures that would be invsible to others. That would allow you to work your wearable computer without anyone noticing since all of your motions would be subtle.

    --
    Want a free Nintendo DS, GC, PS2, Xbox. [freegamingsystems.com] (you only need 4 referrals)
    Wired article as proof [wired.com]
  • An opportunity to become even lazier.

    Announced last week major electronic manufactures have announced the new brain controlled televisions and cable.

    Though a spokesman one company said there're would some diffculties for the public in general since it's a known law of physics that one must by at least 5% smarter than the device that one is trying to use. He did comment one postitive note that the general stupidity of people everywhere would not hamper the roll out of the lastest brain controled toaster

  • Baranovich: You must... surf in Russian! [thinkinrussian.org]

    With apologies to Craig Thomas and Clint Eastwood.

  • Reminds me of this [amazon.com] book by C.S. Friedman (great author BTW).

    In the future, brain implants argment humans with with physical impairments to the point where their extended mental abilities far outreach their physical limitations. Of course, only the rich can afford the best technology, but hackers acquire black-market implants to keep up. Eventually a rogue virus threatens everyone, as simply seeing a trigger for the virus when your firmware is enabled can infect you...
  • Technology Allows Control of Brain Implanted Chips

  • Neural Circuits (Score:5, Informative)

    by Doc Ruby ( 173196 ) on Thursday March 31, 2005 @01:10PM (#12101956) Homepage Journal
    These first chips are just "neural output" devices. They're very exciting - we've crossed the watershed to real bionics. But they're "write only" devices, like printers. Which is at odds with actual neural function, which includes feedback at every turn. Neural input feedback will make these devices more accurate and useable (by anyone). And the numb appendages we use while working on that next breakthru will probably make us more neurotic. Here's to escalating the modern condition!
    • Well, there is still feedback. First off, depending on the patient there may be some proprioceptive sensation intact (if only motor fibers are cut, for example). More importantly, you have visual and auditory feedback. These can be very effective sources of feedback - premotor cortex receives visual and auditory inputs (and even responds to seeing someone else acting more than other things). With time, the brain may be able to squeeze a lot from this information...At the very least you will know about t
    • "And the numb appendages we use while working on that next breakthru will probably make us more neurotic."

      How would that make you any more neurotic than moving a mouse, or using a biofeedback device?

      If you ask me, people in todays society are more equipped than ever before to handle this sort of thing mentally.

      • I think that using a mouse contributes to the neuroses of our modern condition. Carpal tunnel took a while to recognize as an occupational hazard, and it's physical. I think mechanization causes stress - the less easily interfaced, the more stressful. And jacking arbitrary inputs into our brains will likely cause longterm psychological changes, as we adapt to our new limbs as much as they adapt to us. Some of those changes will likely be inconsistent with the rest of our psyche, and cause neurosis, even psy

  • Questions??? (Score:5, Funny)

    by mbrewthx ( 693182 ) on Thursday March 31, 2005 @01:12PM (#12101970)
    Could YOU run Linux?? Or would Linux be running you???
    Imagine a Beowolf cluster of people???
  • brain implants return ability to those with disability, allowing them to control all manner of devices by thought alone

    Why is this thought of only in terms of those with disability? I'm sure there are plenty of other people would love having the device implanted for other purposes altogether.

    As soon as someone figures out a way to create an optical overlay via a direct neural interface, I'm sure everyone who ever seriously dreamed of living in virtual reality will jump on this in a heartbeat.

    Though, ho
    • I dont want a virtual reality, i just want an augmented reality. Kind of like a non intrusive hud. Night vision (i can barely see at night, and any light is a halo thanks to my astimgatism), maybe a scheduler, so that when i have something to do, it appears in my vield of view as a notice (Today: Pay bills. eh, leave that till tomorrow) Granted, my examples arent the best, but i have a feeling that augmented reality has a lot more to offer than virtual reality. Some of the stuff that steve mann is doing
  • I'm not handicapped in any way but I want the procedure done immediately!
  • Why not get some technology inside of their limbs so they have better control of themselves, rather just the things around them.

    Being use to controlling your body your entire life, then one day getting into, for example, a car accident and becoming paralysed... The realization of not being able to control your body has got to be immense. I mean, total loss of most/all physical control...unreal.

  • My brain's wired to MS Windows... (Score:3, Funny)

    by IdJit ( 78604 ) on Thursday March 31, 2005 @01:19PM (#12102046)
    ...and I haven't experienced any adverse effects.

    Hold on...I've just been given a list of servers I need to attack...BRB

  • Matrix anyone? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by zappepcs ( 820751 )
    Am I the only one that is seriously waiting for the socket in the back of my head so I can learn all sorts of things without any effort? I don't think I'd want the control chips implanted... imagine yourself watching TV, all settled in, and just as the shower scene starts, you blink and suddenly you're watching the iron chef? or your garage door starts opening and closing repeatedly? Got only knows what evil would happen if you got a 'head cold'... sneezing is bad enough, but when you sneeze and the dishw
  • THE BORG!!!!!

    Seriously, I think with implanted chips in the brain and the internet, could be be getting close to an ability to "google" information and have it implanted directly into our brain. A novel for instance, or even how to do something. Is there a possibility in the future school from Pre-k to college can be downloaded in a few minutes into an 18 year old?

  • Its got to be faster than a joystick :)
  • A friend of mine wrote a very interesting story [fanfiction.net] about brain machine interfaces. I wonder, what will be the future for this technology? Will we be able, as he states, to use this technology for ultra-fast typing, drawing and making computer animations, or even making blueprints, with just our thoughts?

    The part i liked the most about his story was the ultra-fast typing. Mix this with display-integrated glasses and a telecomm. Ta-da! You got text-based telepathy! Cyborgs, anyone?

  • It's okay, they're handicapped (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Gigaplex ( 850988 ) on Thursday March 31, 2005 @01:38PM (#12102304)
    Step 1) Put chips in handicapped people
    "It's okay, they're handicapped. It's all we can do for them."

    Step 2) Put chips in normal people to monitor health hazards
    "It's important that we know if granny is in trouble."

    Step 3) Diseases and illnesses like SARS can be stopped in their tracks with these chips
    "We have to use these chips to protect ourselves. Everyone else is doing it and they are fine."

    Step 4) We can now use these to detect terrorists by watching for dangerous thought formations.
    "It's the only way we can stop them. It must be done."

    Step 5) The line between terrorist and criminal is blurred and it's used to stop criminals.
    "We might as well do it with criminals since we are already doing it with terrorists."

    Step 6) These thought-forms can be prevented entirely.
    "If terrorist and criminal thoughts are stopped from the git-go, it will be a utopia. The end of crime forever!"

    Step 7) All unwanted thoughts are filtered out
    "You have to pay a price for freedom. I am okay with slavery. We need it to be safe. What would you like me to do today?"

    See a problem here?!?

  • More links and information (Score:3, Informative)

    by DoctoRoR ( 865873 ) * on Thursday March 31, 2005 @01:44PM (#12102384) Homepage

    The article does a great job surveying some of the major players in the field. I think all of the cited researchers have received grants from the NIH Neural Prosthesis Program [nih.gov].

    As mentioned in the article, BCI research is proceeding along invasive, intra-cortical lines as well as more data-processing intensive EEG-based approaches. The latter methods affix EEG leads on the scalp, record brain waves, and employ powerful computer methods to decipher the results. Noise is a problem, so researchers have embraced the more invasive approach of implanting chips directly into the brain. That's what Cyberkinetics [cyberkineticsinc.com] and Neural Signals [neuralsignals.com] are doing.

    The Lab of Brain-Computer Interfaces, Technical University of Graz, [tu-graz.ac.at] has an active group researching BCI, both through EEG and implanted electrodes. I'm surprised they don't get more press. There's also interesting work going on at Anderson's Caltech lab using the posterior parietal cortex, which might have some advantages. Check out the nice slide show on their research [caltech.edu].

  • Great idea, at least until... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Overt Coward ( 19347 ) on Thursday March 31, 2005 @01:46PM (#12102398) Homepage
    Great idea, at least until the people receiving the implants start shouting EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! and try to kill large groups of people by photographic over-exposure.
  • To qualify you must have a healthy, unused, expendable brain.

    Applicant: Well, I'm an avid slashdot reader...
    Interviewer: Yes, you'll do nicely. To report a bug, just twich randomly and piss yourself.

  • Wired Story [wired.com]

    Wired seemed to stress the opinion of other scientists in the same field, that this research was 'premature' and disaster could bring public outrage and set back (American) research a good ten years.

    The thing is, Matt Nagle was a willing volunteer; he's an adult who can comprehend the risks involved in this procedure, and if he's injured, one can't say that it's unexpected. If this niche industry is destroyed when somebody is hurt and this whole chance for mobility gets tossed back like U.

  • Think Shortcuts (Score:5, Funny)

    by mathmatt ( 851301 ) on Thursday March 31, 2005 @02:19PM (#12102763) Homepage
    Can I think "control-c" instead of "copy?"

    How about auto-completing my thoughts?

    Me: Computer, stop comp...
    Computer: ...completing my sentences!
    Me: You're driving...
    Computer: ...me crazy!
    Me: control-alt-delete!
    Computer: atl-F4
    Me: control-alt-delete!
    Computer: atl-F4
    Me: Why you little...
    Computer: Yes, Dave?

  • allowing them to control all manner of devices by thought alone



    I think it's not control by thought as in science fiction; in other words, it's not that the user thinks about 'move cursor up' and the cursor moves up. It's about using signals emitted from the brain to control a device.


  • Being a geek, I will of course get the implant. Though I know it will just be a matter of time before some 12 year old Brazilian kid hacks my head and I'm walking around shouting "GoldenPalace.com" like I have Tourette's syndrome.

  • DRM (Score:2)

    by Aumaden ( 598628 )
    Hey, I want to install DRM on my implant so people will stop stealing my ideas!
  • I, for one, welcome my new implant overlord.
  • Expect the military to be one of the first to pick up on this. Take a fighter jet, for instance. One of the worst problems designers have is developing interfaces for all the devices on board. Just look at all the buttons and switches on the flight stick. It's so bad that they actually include a second person on most ships just to handle some of the workload. Recognize target. Identify. Select ordinance. Aim. Release. Each step requiring different inputs from a set of motor functions. Neural input w

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