The Hands-Free Future
From: Popular Science - 11/2008 - page 48
By: Lisa Katayama

Say goodbye to grimy keyboards. Here are four innovations that merge man and
machine. 

Using motion sensors, brain signals and a heap of creativity, several new
technologies promise to do away with cramped fingers, videogame-fried eyes,
and hoarse phone voices. This past summer in Toyko, for instance, a paralyzed
man with electrodes attached to his head took his Second Life avatar on a
virtual walk, just by envisioning his character strolling. Engineers at a
biotech start-up in Illinois are now testing a neck device that allows mute
people to speak by intercepting nerve signals en route to the vocal cords,
and a team of grad students at MIT has devised a Wii-mote-controlled PC game
for the blind. 

Scientists already have the know-how to make mind control a reality. The rest
is engineering, says Rodney Brooks, a roboticist at MIT. "It's only a matter
of time before it will become normal for people to interface with the virtual
world using direct connections to their brain," he predicts. "We'll be able
to activate any of our machines just by thinking about it." It's a nifty idea
for all mankind, but even more so for those who struggle to talk, walk, and
see. Below, notable mind-control devices making headlines. 


Eyeball Remote
What is it - An eyegaze interface that lets you control your music player,
camera, or cellphone by rolling your eyes. Skip through tracks by looking
right twice. 

Who makes it - Japanese telecom company NTT Docomo. Engineers demoed a
prototye of this device in June. 

How it works - Headphones equipped with electrodes read electrical signals
generated by eyeball movement and translate them into basic commands. 

Cool features - A head-mounted camera allows you to snap pictures with the
blink of an eye.

Link - NTT DoCoMo developing eye-controlled mobile phones
http://www.intomobile.com/2008/07/03/ntt-docomo-developing-eye-controlled-mobile-phones.html


Computer Speech
What is it - A lightweight wireless neck device that helps people with speech
disorders talk. 

Who makes it - Ambient, a biotech start-up in Champaign, IL. The company
plans to begin selling the device next month. 

How it works - The device adheres to the skin above the voicebox. It reads
nerve signals and sends them via Bluetooth to a computer synthesizer, which
processes them into audible speech. 

Cool features - The same tech can be used to let people with speech disorders
talk on the phone or help paralysis patients operate a rigged wheelchair. 

Link - Speak your mind
http://www.theaudeo.com/media.html


Mind Control
What is it - A brain interface that lets people with muscle disorders,
spinal-cord injuries, or serious crpal tunnel syndrome control a keyboard
just by thinking about it. 

Who makes it - Researchers at Keio University in Japan. The team helped a
paralysis patient take the world's first virtual walk last May. 

How it works - Eelectrodes intercept brain signals that control limb movement
and send them to a laptop. The computer translates the signals into keyboard
commands to let users move the Second Life avatar. 

Cool features - The kit is completely portable. Shopping and socializing in
Second Life are also possible using a mic and mouse. 

Link - No Paralysis in Second Life
http://www.medgadget.com/archives/2008/06/no_paralysis_in_second_life.html


Sightless Gaming
What is it - A gaming alternative to Guitar hero and Rock Band for blind
people that rewards listening and dancefloor skills instead of hand-eye
coordination. 

Who makes it - The Singapore-MIT Gambit Game Lab. The PC-based Flash
videogame is available as a free download on MIT's website. 

How it works - Players layer DJ tracks on the computer and rhythmically shake
a Wii-mote to make increasingly complicated beats. 

Cool features - Advanced players can generate their own sound effects in
"Freestyle" mode. 

Link - AudiOdyssey
http://gambit.mit.edu/loadgame/prototypes_2007.php