I once presented on the ideas in Neurosphere and a guy in the audience said, “it’s already here, it’s called Second Life.”
“A research team led by professor Jun’ichi Ushiba of the Keio University Biomedical Engineering Laboratory has developed a BCI system that lets the user walk an avatar through the streets of Second Life while relying solely on the power of thought.”
http://www.pinktentacle.com/2007/10/brain-computer-interface-for-second-life/
Merging one’s personal filters and pointers with the mobile environment. Mark-up the world.
“Keep all your bookmarks in delicious and access them from home, office, anywhere.”
del.icio.us
Intensively location based services – where you at?
http://www.boostmobile.com/
Tip of the Neurohat to Robbie Blinkoff of Context-Based Research Group
“In a patent application, an Austin-based startup called EEStor promised “technologies for replacement of electrochemical batteries,” meaning a motorist could plug in a car for five minutes and drive 500 miles roundtrip between Dallas and Houston without gasoline. EEStor’s secret ingredient is a material sandwiched between thousands of wafer-thin metal sheets, like a series of foil-and-paper gum wrappers stacked on top of each other. Charged particles stick to the metal sheets and move quickly across EEStor’s proprietary material. The result is an ultracapacitor, a battery-like device that stores and releases energy quickly.”
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=3547157&page=1
tip o the neurohat to FUTUREdition from the Arlington Institute.
and more war.
More than 130 veterans of the Iraq war now face the daunting challenge of learning to live with a missing arm. To make that transition easier, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or Darpa, has launched a $55-million project that pools the efforts of prosthetics experts nationwide to create a thought-controlled bionic arm that duplicates the functions of a natural limb.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/09/05/bionic.arm/index.html
Just back from CEDIA show, consumer electronics for the very high end of the market – folks who will plunk down $15,000 for a combo DVD/HDTV/iPOD player that controls every media device in the home. What caught my eye here were two things – the first is the use of biological metaphors for home control technology. The second is, in the midst of this testimony to rich consumer self-indulgence, both these products are built to run on the very mass market Windows Media Center Edition platform.
“The World’s First Home Awareness System. Security systems might discourage break-ins, but they can’t guard against breakdowns. With the Home Heartbeat™ system- easy-to-install wireless sensors check the pulse of your home. No technicians, no codes, no third party monitoring or complex manuals are required.
http://www.homeheartbeat.com/HomeHeartBeat/index.htm
‘
“Autonomic Controls Inc.’s MCE-CS Control Server brings the power of Windows Media Center to touch-panels, controls systems, and CE devices.”
http://www.autonomiccontrols.com/MCE%20Server.htm
Well, it’s better than technology development driven throught weapons research.
“Hitachi’s scientists are set to develop a brain TV remote controller letting users turn a TV on and off or switch channels by only thinking.”
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/57980.html
This blog has highlighted gains toward technology interfaces to neurons. This study advances understanding of the action of neurons themselves toward forming memory.
“This time, Ben-Jacob and graduate student Itay Baruchi, who led the study, targeted inhibitory neurons to try to bring some order to their neural network. They mounted the cell culture on a polymer panel studded with electrodes, which enabled Ben-Jacob and Baruchi to monitor the patterns created by firing neurons. All of the cells on the electrode array came from the cortex, the outermost layer of the brain known for its role in memory formation.”
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=0306422B-E7F2-99DF-3809798634B2D416&chanID=sa003
One more for today. Simple and elegant, if selective.
http://www.poodwaddle.com/worldclock.swf
Another instance of progress through war.
“The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient’s mind and muscles. It was invented by David Gow and was designed and built by Touch Bionics, which is based in Livingston. The technology has been tested by a number of people, including US soldiers who lost limbs in the Iraq war.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/6901231.stm