A Map for the Programmable World

by Chris  Arkenberg, URBEINGRECORDED.com:

IFTF recently published the map for When Everything is Programmable. I did the research & forecast for Neuroprogramming and contributed to Combinatorial Manufacturing. For Neuroprogramming, I focused on brain-computer interface technology in medical, military, and futuretainment. I was, frankly, amazed at just how much rapid development is happening in the field (and how much money is moving through it, as well).

Perhaps surprisingly, Neuroprogramming looks much closer than the molecular construction I researched for Combinatorial Manufacturing. The promise of Drexler et al still seems to be a ways off but Claytronics offers a really compelling path towards programmable matter.

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Brain-controlled exoskeletons advance with MindWalker

from WIRED.uk:

A team of European experts is working on a mind-controlled robotic exoskeleton that could enable people currently confined to wheelchairs to walk again and also help astronauts rehabilitate to Earth gravity after prolonged periods in the weightlessness of space.

The MindWalker system, which is being developed as part of a three-year, 2.5 million euro project, consists of a brain-computer interface (BCI), a virtual reality training environment and a robotic exoskeleton attached to the legs.

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‘Think-dial’ on your thought-controlled iPhone

from h+ Magazine:

Don your telepathic headset and plug into your iPhone. Want to call your friend? Just look at her picture and think about her.

A new iPhone app described in the MIT Technology Review blog developed by Tanzeem Choudhury, Rajeev Raizada, Andrew Campbell and others at Dartmouth College lets you “wink” or “think dial” your relative or friend when his or her photo appears on an iPhone.

• EOT Neuro archive

Portable mind-reader lets users write with their thoughts

from TGDaily:

The Mind Speller, intended primarily for people with severe motor disabilities, is an EEG-based device that interprets brain waves to spell words and phrases.

The Mind Speller contains a proprietary ultra-low power eight-channel EEG chip developed by IMEC and Holst Centre to process the EEG signals. A commercially available low power microcontroller digitizes the EEG signals, and a low power 2.4GHz radio transmits the EEG signals wirelessly to a nearby PC.

• EOT BCI archive

Intendix Brain-Computer Interface goes commercial

from Singularity Hub:

The world’s first patient-ready and commercially available brain computer interface just arrived at CeBIT 2010.

The Intendix from Guger Technologies (g*tec) is a system that uses an EEG cap to measure brain activity in order to let you type with your thoughts.

• EOT BCI archive

Video: BCI lets you play pinball with your mind

“Berlin Brain-Computer Interface Live demonstration of a brain-controlled Adams Family pinball machine by imagined movements at the CeBit IT fair 2010 in Hannover.”

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Video: ‘Second Life’ controlled w/ brain-computer interface

Portable brain-computer interfaces advance w/ reconstructed 3D hand motions

from The Society for Neuroscience:

Researchers have successfully reconstructed 3-D hand motions from brain signals recorded in a non-invasive way, according to a study in the March 3 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.

This finding uses a technique that may open new doors for portable brain-computer interface systems. Such a non-invasive system could potentially operate a robotic arm or motorized wheelchair — a huge advance for people with disabilities or paralysis.

New sensors built using nanotech could read and write information directly into the brain

from EVOKER:

Telecommunications researchers in Japan are attempting to create electronic sensors that can not only receive information from the brain, but could manipulate our neural pathways.

“Establishing connections between the brain and electrical instruments is important for understanding how the brain works and for controlling neural activity,” says Torimitsu, who heads NTT’s Molecular and Bioscience Group.

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