Release date: 2017-04-24
More than half a year ago, Mark Zuckerberg announced on Facebook that he had set up a special department called Building 8 and claimed that the department would create new hardware products to make the world better connected. Yesterday, at a meeting, this slightly mysterious department disclosed two projects. After listening to the introduction, many listeners thought they had entered the plot of science fiction...
Facebook announced that they will use a non-intrusive brain-computer interface to let people type by mind. In addition, they want to create a wearable device that lets the skin "hear" someone else's words.
â–² In August last year, Zuckerberg announced the establishment of the Building 8 department (Source: Facebook)
In the first project, a number of prestigious institutions will collaborate with Facebook, including Johns Hopkins University, the University of California at Berkeley, and the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Mark Chevillet, formerly an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University, is the head of the project. The neuroscience expert wants to use LEDs or lasers to read the neural signals of the cerebral cortex and convert it into text.
"We want to extract these brain signals before they are converted into sound," Dr. Chevillet said. He has an ambitious plan: within two years, he wants to achieve the goal of hitting 100 words per minute.
â–² Brain-computer interface has made some encouraging progress in mind typing (Source: Stanford University)
This is not a fantasy. At present, the brain-computer interface has made some encouraging progress. Recently, three deaf patients were able to use words to select words, and one person was able to communicate at a rate of 8 words per minute. In that study, a tool was implanted in the patient's brain to record nerve signals. And Facebook's devices want to go a step further – they plan to use a headband or a special hat to read brain signals in a low-invasive way. If this dream can come true, it will undoubtedly be a major advancement in neuroscience.
In addition to allowing paralyzed patients to regain communication with the world, Facebook also believes that this technology helps people communicate in virtual reality or augmented reality.
The second project sounds even more unbelievable – Facebook researchers want people to literate through the skin. Behind it is a method that also sounds incredible - Tadoma. Some sly and sly people can know the information that the speaker wants to express by placing his hand on the face of others and perceiving the vibration and airflow during the vocalization. Facebook wants to plug this approach into the wings of modern technology for the benefit of patients with limited hearing and vision.
â–²Tadoma allows patients with limited vision and hearing to understand the messages they deliver (Source: Perkins School for the Blind)
In one experiment, the researchers designed a device that was tied to the arm. When an engineer presses a specific word on a tablet, the device emits different types of vibration. Another engineer who is familiar with these types of vibrations will be able to clarify what the former wants to express. There is no need for language before, no action, no need to face to face.
“Ordinary people receive information from the cochlea and pass it on to the brain. The engineer receives information from his arm and passes it to the brain,†said Ms. Regina Dugan, head of Building 8.
This novel idea is expected to let people know what information others want to convey through their skin. Researchers estimate that relying on vibration may make it possible to distinguish between 100 different words. This is not enough. Therefore, they are also considering adding other non-verbal signals such as pressure or temperature to the skin. As a result, the amount of words that can be recognized will increase significantly.
Ms. Dugan said that they have two years to assess whether the current plan is worthwhile. And in addition to these two projects, Building 8 has four mysterious projects in preparation. No matter how many finished products these projects will eventually bring, the communication between people will become more and more. Maybe one day, we can communicate with dozens or even hundreds of people at the same time without opening our mouths. We look forward to this sci-fi scene coming true soon.
Source: Health New Vision (Micro Signal HealthHorizon)
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