Thought-Controlled Computers May Soon Be a Reality From: Computerworld - 10/19/2011 By: Lucas Mearian Wadsworth Center's Gerwin Schalk, speaking at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Emerging Technology Conference, demonstrated how close real-time human-computer interface technology is to becoming a reality. Schalk noted that neurotechnology - a $145 billion market that is growing 9 percent annually - already has reached several important milestones in human-computer symbiosis. He said researchers are currently working with the brain's alpha waves to create systems that can be used to communicate directly with computers. In one demonstration, Schalk showed video of a patient shooting monsters in a computer game using nothing but thoughts. Schalk also showed how a computer can tell the difference between someone thinking of different sounds, and how a computer can detect the sound level of music a person is listening to and track it over time. Schalk noted that two major hurdles to real-time thought-controlled computers is the development of better sensors to detect alpha waves and better ways to identify the brain's signals. "Direct computer interaction with the brain has the potential to become a general purpose technology ... at the same scale at information technology, computing, and the telephone," he said. Read the entire article at: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9221007/Thought_controlled_computers_may_soon_be_a_reality?taxonomyId=11 Links: Gerwin Schalk http://www.wadsworth.org/resnres/bios/schalk.htm MIT’s Emerging Technology Conference http://www.technologyreview.com/emtech/11/ The Cyborg in Everyone: A Thought Becomes a Command (video 21:40) http://www.technologyreview.com/emtech/11/video/#!/watch/the-cyborg-in-everyone-a-thought-becomes-a-command/ MIT’s Emerging Technology Conference and Computers controlled by brain waves http://my.firedoglake.com/papau/2011/10/20/mits-emerging-technology-conference-and-computers-controlled-by-brain-waves/