Mind-controlled drones are no longer a thing of science fiction fantasies, now that real working prototypes can be steered with thoughts relayed via a skullcap wirelessly connected to a computer.

Brain activity is calibrated to the user and a series of over 100 electrodes interpret the data, turning it into a physical response, thanks to work done by Arizona State University researcher named Panagiotis Artemiadis (Human-Oriented Robotics and Control Lab director).

At the intersection of mechanical and aerospace engineering, his work on machine-brain interfaces has made it possible for minds to guide otherwise-unmanned aerial vehicles. And not just one drone: up to four can be moved around in a swarm, which makes it possible for this technology to enable even more complex navigation than a traditional joystick would permit.

Users imagine what they want the drones to do, and watch them perform on the monitor. The trick is that there may not be a single brain pattern that maps to one movement initially, but for any given user repetition calibrates the system anew. Operating multiple drones creates redundancy, too, allowing a swarm or fleet to carry out a mission even if one of its units fails.

One of the engineers on the project responded to a question about whether this is truly mind control: “The computer reads brain wave patterns. When the pilot wants to send the drones back and forth, the computer recognizes a certain set of brain wave patterns and – using Bluetooth – sends a wireless signal to the drones. So, yes, the brain actually controls the movement of the drones.”

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We could all use a little more concentration. As businesses like Lumosity capitalize on our need for cognitive improvement, it’s only logical (pun intended) that someone come up with a more physical invention that achieves the same goals. Designer Alejo Bernal’s new toy-based invention hopes to do so while adding some whimsy to a potentially heavy issue.

Bernal’s idea is a biofeedback control-based game of sorts, with an emphasis on concentration. It’s a toy car that can be moved by thinking. The user wears an electroencephalography (EEG) headset that measures the electrical activity between neurons in the brain. “As you try to focus, the increased light intensity of the vehicle indicates the level of attention you have reached,” Bernal explained to Dezeen. “Once the maximum level is achieved and retained for seven seconds, the vehicle starts moving forward.”

An important benefit of this new attention tool is for those with attention disorders. Therapy for things like ADD and ADHD are typically software-based and rely on digital feedback, when patients have historically responded better to physical response. Fluctuating light levels help visualize the amount of concentration being used. Light bulbs have now become more than just a metaphor for intelligence.

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It’s often said that music comes from the heart. It may only be a metaphor, but it’s never been truer thanks to neurologist Josef Parvizi, music professor Chris Chafe and their new idea for detecting unusual brain activity through a stethoscope. After hearing a musical performance where the songs were structured around radio signals from outer space, Parvizi envisioned music based on brain waves.

He then consulted Chafe, an expert at converting unseen signals into music, about the possibility of transforming an EEG reading into sound. Chafe successfully converted the waves into human voice-like tones. After listening to the piece, the two realized that they could easily discern normal brain activity from seizure activity. The result was the development of a stethoscope intended for caregivers.

Those with limited medical knowledge would especially benefit from the stethoscope, as it clearly defines each stage of an epileptic episode. Stanford’s Bio-X Interdisciplinary Initiatives Program (Bio-X IIP) has funded Parvizi and Chafe’s research. The duo hopes to reveal the device at Stanford’s Cantor Arts Center next year. Someday the hauntingly beautiful sounds it generates may save a life or two.

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Not exactly your simple driver download and installation, an MIT scientist is doing research that could lead to downloadable memories. Dr. Ed Boyden is decoding brain patterns in hope that our memories could one day be copied into information to improve neuron capabilities.

Dr. Boyden has located a protein called channelrhodopsin (ChR). Found in algae extracts, it has the ability to convert light into electricity. When ChR is introduced to certain neural pathways, it causes the brain’s electrical signals to be triggered by light.

Using a computer program, these patterns can then be mapped. The light-sensitive protein allows the ability to convert these patterns to binary code. If the mind’s complex pathways can be coded, then they ostensibly can be converted and stored. Boyden and his team are one step closer to creating a neuron on/off switch, which is a giant step for the fight against degenerative brain disease.

The post Downloadable Memories: A Benevolently Orwellian Idea first appeared on Gajitz.

If TV shows and movies are to be believed, families of people in a vegetative state spend hours upon hours at the patient’s bedside, having one-sided conversations in the hopes that the patient will understand them on some level. According to research being carried out in hospitals around the world, the idea that people in a vegetative state are still at least partially aware is not complete fiction. Recently, a vegetative-state patient in Canada was able to communicate with doctors via functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Scott Routley has been considered in a vegetative state for more than ten years. After just one year in a vegetative state, the condition is said to be permanent. Doctors used to believe that patients in a persistent or permanent vegetative state had no real level of awareness or cognitive function, but Scott Routley might be key in changing that perception. His doctors asked him to imagine certain physical actions in response to yes-or-no questions, with a different action representing each answer.

After putting Scott into an MRI machine and asking him questions, it was clear that Scott’s brain was active. He was imagining the actions that corresponded to the “yes” or “no” answers. And for the first time ever, doctors were able to ask a patient in a vegetative state whether he was in any physical pain. Scott’s answer, to the relief of his medical team, was no. While it is fascinating to know that patients in a persistent vegetative state still retain cognitive function, it re-opens the perpetual debate about such patients’ right to die. Perhaps in the future, doctors will be able to ask the patients directly what their wishes are.

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