Painting with your mind
A new type of computer developed in Austria could help people create paintings using electrical signals from the brain.
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A volunteer wears an electrode helmet to control a computer to draw a picture. |
Currently, to help people control computers with their thoughts, scientists attach electrodes to a helmet and then place the helmet on the user's head. These electrodes can detect small fluctuations in the electrical currents from the user's brain. These signals are then encoded into commands to control the computer.
Dr. Christoph Guger, a researcher at the technology company GTech near Linz, Austria, and his colleagues are applying similar technology to create a type of computer that allows people to draw pictures using their thoughts. Users attach electrodes to their heads so the computer can receive signals from the brain, the Telegraph reports.
"The interface of the computer we built works like a simple drawing software. It allows the user to create strokes by thinking about the functions within the software," Guger explained.
If the user focuses on a particular option—such as a tool for drawing circles or lines, or selecting a color—the drawing software can "understand" what the user wants to do.
Guger said that if the research team could implant electrodes into the cerebral cortex, the computer would be able to encode every finger movement and voice. The computer might even be able to predict the user's intentions.
"Then you can paint pictures with a lot of detail," he asserted.
Guger's team is collaborating with researchers in Japan to develop technology for implanting electrodes into the cerebral cortex. With this technology, users could draw more easily, even after undergoing surgery. The computer could then understand commands such as "turn on the light," "draw a circle," or "select blue."
According to VnExpress - VT
