Right now there are devices that can operate by reading our mind, or rather by reading the signals in our minds and converting that into an action. However thanks to the efforts of researchers at MIT, they have created a wearable that is worn on the face and will be capable of “hearing” our thoughts.
According to MIT, “The system consists of a wearable device and an associated computing system. Electrodes in the device pick up neuromuscular signals in the jaw and face that are triggered by internal verbalizations — saying words ‘in your head’ — but are undetectable to the human eye. The signals are fed to a machine-learning system that has been trained to correlate particular signals with particular words.”
The idea came about when the researchers were trying to solve a problem of how to meld humans and machines together in a less disruptive way. Lead researcher Arnav Kapur cites an example of how disruptive it can be that whenever we want to look up something, we’ll have to take our phones out, type in a passcode, launch an app, type in the keywords, and so on. All of which takes the user’s attention away from the environment and the people that they’re there with.
With this device, it allows users to “think” of what they want to do and it happens, letting the entire process happen internally so as not to be disruptive in the real world. Other applications include being able to control your gadgets remotely, so imagine lying in bed and changing channels or controlling media playback, or performing multiple, accurate, calculations in your head.
It doesn’t look like the most elegantly designed wearable, but it is in its early stages so we suppose that can be forgiven.