Please take a look at my A3 Forecasting Project which is a website about wireless brain-sensing technology. When we think about using our minds to control devices, this is our first step towards achieving this goal. The focus of my project was directed towards how this type of technology would be beneficial to people with disabilities, especially people whose disability affects their speech or mobility. It also briefly talks about the controversial topic of device implantation which is being researched and proposed by Elon Musk through his Neuralink project.
https://etec523wirelessbrainsensingtechnology.weebly.com/
Hi Juliano,
Loved the underlying theme of this tech being able to unlock potential — especially potential that might have been lost due to disabilities or disorders! Like you say, this will only be possible with the continued development of network infrastructures (i.e. 5G), IoT, AI, and more. But, the potential (haha) is there.
Do you think the next step might be in wearables? Wireless earbuds, smart glasses, etc. — future iterations of these might trend more and more towards control inputs driven by the brain itself…
Great question Lyon! Yes, I do think the next step will be in wearables. In fact, there is a start up based in Vancouver that’s working on earbuds that can control inputs from the brain but the struggle they are working through right now is that the prototype can only recognize the basic thoughts of the primary participant (the founder) but not anyone else’s.
Here’s a link to an article about their project if you’re interested: https://www.geekwire.com/2019/earbuds-can-read-mind-orbityl-pushes-boundaries-brain-computer-interfaces/
There are other earbuds with EEG technology available for consumer purchase already but those focus on monitoring brainwaves and boosting productivity but does not allow you to control other devices.
Thanks for your comment!
Hi guys,
I think wearables definitely have a future and a potential customer base. Brain/Machine interface technology at this point is mostly used for neuoprosthetics. A huge campaign about the usefulness and safety of this technology would be required to convince million of people to buy in. In the meantime, I expect that many customers would gravitate to maybe the next best technology i.e wearbles to enjoy more or less the same benefits. Moreover, I suspect that this kind of technoogy will prove to be contentious and divisive with different groups having polarized views. I predict that some would evocatively refuse to even entertain the idea of getting this implant due to religous and ethical reasons. However latency will be a major drawback and in the end wearbles won’t be able to compete with either Brain/Machine interface or Brain/Cloud interface.
Hi Juliano,
Thank you for a nicely laid out, easy to navigate, and thorough presentation. This is a topic I know very little about and you did a good job of providing adequate background information in order for me to understand the possible implications of the technology on education and learners who might benefit from it. I also appreciated that you touched on privacy and data concerns as that is something that seems to consistently be a barrier in implementing new tech in public school districts.
Well done!
Hi Juliano! Thank you for a very informative and interesting OER! Your website is visually appealing and easy to navigate, and I really enjoyed learning more about wireless brain-sensing. I was happy to see some of the things we can already do with EEG such as the voice and mobility assistance technology you presented. Your limitations and concerns page summarized the current technological challenges and the potential ethics issues very well. I also came across Neuralink during my research for an A3 topic. I was a little freaked out by the idea of something that can understand and manipulate what you hear, what you see, or even what you think. However, at the same time, I’m very excited about the potential that the technology can bring such as the ability to help the disabled or the crazy future where we can upload or download things directly to our brain. If this technology can achieve what Musk envisions in terms of creating enhanced human intelligence with AI, then I think it would create a further digital divide between those who can afford these and those who cannot. I read online that Neuralink will give an update later this month on August 28th, so I’m curious to see their progress.
Thanks again for the great resource! I learned a lot from going through it!
Juliano, thank you for your A3 on non-invasive brain-reading/connecting technologies. It has extended my knowledge on brain tech that currently exists and will exist on the market to assist people with disabilities or those who do not have mobility. I was skeptical about EEG devices, especially when they are used as a way to read/measure brain activity in children in classrooms as a way to know if they are paying attention, etc., but you’ve presented their use in assistive technologies and my thoughts have changed about their usefulness. You provide a very in-depth forecast for the technologies and cover the limitations and concerns. My only critical feedback is I feel Musk is over-cited – while he may be one of the most prominent and well-known proponents and innovators of B/CI, others have involved in this work for much longer and are less financially vested in its success, and I trust them more.
It will be exciting to see how EEG and B/CI technologies evolve over the next 20-40 years! If you’re interested, check out Pascaline’s and my take on how the B/CI applies to mobile/open learning.
Thanks for your feedback Mel!
I’m glad that I was able to change your thoughts about the usefulness of EEG devices. Great point about over-citing Musk while there are others who came before him and are less financially vested in its success. I chose his project because there is a lot of buzz around it and I didn’t want to dive too deep into invasive brain-connecting technologies so having the most prominent one would reduce the information overload for the audience.
If you’re interested, here’s an article interviewing someone who is currently using a brain implantation technology called Utah array and his take on the Neuralink. The Utah array lacks longevity as it needs to be removed after a few years and the person is restricted to using the technology while he is in the lab, as his home is not programmed to work with the technology yet.
https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/07/19/238809/nathan-copeland-man-with-brain-implant-on-elon-musk-neuralink-brain-computer-interface/
Thanks for the link – I will read up!
This was a great resource Juliano. It was well put together and easy to navigate. I appreciated how you were able to bring together the resources that are available and the potential of how they could be used. I was particularly drawn to the communication piece and giving a voice for those who need support. When I consider a school context, I can see such a great potential for some of these communication tools such as the SmartStones Touch. I have worked with students over the years where our current communications still reside in picture cards and / or a clunky eye gaze device that spent more time collecting dust than actually working. All costs aside, wouldn’t it be great to have this technology readily and easily available for our students to communicate with in our schools? Think of the potential these devices could bring to enhance learning for all. I am hopeful that sooner rather than later that this technology will be more commonly available and ready to use for all.
Thanks for your response Meipsy! I hope this type of technology becomes available sooner rather than later as it will really benefit our students. I can just imagine how the faces of the students will light up when they realize they can communicate organically and seamlessly with their peers.
HI Juliano, this was a wonderful created presentation on a topic that might hard to decipher on my own. However, your high-level look at the brain sensing technology allowed me to get the gist on what the future would hold using the tech. Watching the Ted talk from Tan Le – I was interested in how the cognitive overload she mentioned, can balance stress and also help improve learning abilities. I’m sure there are many deeper benefits beyond what is stated, but the most important aspect of the tech usage is on those with disabilities. I think in the short term, that group is the most likely to benefit from it, without implants for sure, as that seems to be invasive and costly.
In terms of limitation, perhaps due to the bandwidth issues and costs, how widely available and adoptable can this be for the millions of people that can benefit from it?. Considering rural areas and countries with lacking infrastructure, might prove tough for adoption. The technology needs to be simplified to be available and affordable for students, people with disabilities and those that cannot really afford it to better their lives. But there is hope for the future.
Great work!
Thanks
Thanks for your feedback Luke! There are many deeper benefits such as helping to relieve stress, focus attention and eventually, if Elon Musk gets his way, may become a new way of learning (think like in the Matrix where information can just be installed into our brains). You’re correct that in the short term, people with disabilities are who the technology is geared towards and I think part of the reason could be that they are aiming to fix the major brain problems people suffer from and once they have perfected the practice of that, they then can shift their focus to the more minor ones such as stress and focus. It’s probably how they want to create buzz and build traction saying that they have found a “cure” for these major issues so more people would be interested in buying it and increase their funding as there are fewer products of this sort that are developing compared to products that boast that they work to reduce stress and increase focus.
In terms of availability and adoption, cost of the physical headset will be the large factor as the apps it runs off of can be relatively inexpensive. For example, the app :prose that helps people speak, only costs $0.99 in the App Store. I agree that the infrastructure will need to improve for widespread adoption to occur and our best hope is that it piggybacks off of the spread of 5G infrastructure, which for the time being, is limited to developed cities/countries. The technology is becoming more user-friendly and intuitive but cost is definitely a limitation so hopefully with government grants/aid provided to people with disabilities, this could become more widely available to the people who need it and can’t afford it themselves.