Communicating Person to Person through the Power of Thought Alone
From: University of Southampton (ECS) - 10/06/2009

The University of Southampton's Institute of Sound and Vibration Research has
carried out an experiment that pushes brain-computer interfacing (BCI) one
step closer to brain-to-brain communication (B2B). BCI makes it possible for
humans to send commands using their thoughts to computers, robots,
rehabilitation technology, and virtual reality programs. Lead study author
Christopher James asked a participant linked to an electroencephalogram (EEG)
amplifier to use BCI to send binary digits over the internet. The first
volunteer pictured moving the left arm for zero and the right arm for one.
The numbers were then received by a computer being used by a second volunteer
who also was connected to an EEG. Next, the computer used BCI to send the
digits to a second volunteer, flashing a light-emitting diode lamp to
transfer them directly to the person's brain. The second participant's brain
activity was interpreted by the computer to check if the right numbers were
received. The experiment demonstrates "for the first time, true brain to
brain interfacing," James says. "We have yet to grasp the full implications
of this, but there are various scenarios where B2B could be of benefit, such
as helping people with severe debilitating muscle wasting diseases, or with
the so-called 'locked-in' syndrome, to communicate." B2B communication also
could be used for video games, he says. 

Read the entire article at:
http://www.soton.ac.uk/mediacentre/news/2009/oct/09_135.shtml

Links:
B2B - BrainToBrain: A BCI Experiment - May 2009 - video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93p7oDkA5WA&feature=email

James May's Big ideas - Thought Controlled Wheelchair - video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uyrd0uOuyms&feature=related

Christopher James
http://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/pub/17234.php

Southampton Brain-Computer Interfacing Research Programme
http://www.bci.soton.ac.uk