http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2015-08/11/c_128117153.htm (August 11, 2015)
"Human thoughts can be read and interpreted; they can also be used to control machines." Pioneering researchers at the University of Information Engineering of the People's Liberation Army [in Zhengzhou] are dedicated to the "superpowers" of the brain. After studying for several years the thinking process, they have turned "mind-reading" into reality. The team is currently at the forefront of the "Brain Project" and the research conducted by the "Information processing for brain-machine cooperation" laboratory, which is part of the Program 863 devoted to "brain-machine interaction technology for the classification of large-scale patterns "should be officially completed by the end of the year.
Yesterday, a reporter visited the laboratory where researchers are experimenting with the mysteries of "thought reading"
In mind-reading, eyes act as a scanner
The "Information processing for brain-machine cooperation" laboratory of the University of Information Engineering of the People's Liberation Army was founded in 2005 on the initiative of a group of researchers who decided ten years ago to achieve the dream of "superpowered" humans.
Professor Yan Bin, director of the "Information processing for brain-machine cooperation" laboratory, says the research team focuses on brain knowledge, how it works, how to preserve it and how to enhance it. This research, which is part of the Program 863 devoted to "brain-machine interaction technology for the classification of large-scale patterns " should be completed by the end of the year and has already made a significant breakthrough in the "visual reconstruction technique."
What is "visual reconstruction"? Yan Bin reports that "visual reconstruction" or "reconstruction of the cerebral visual information" is the computer graphic display of a scene as perceived by the eyes. For example, if you look at some letters of the English alphabet on a business card, after looking at these letters, a magnetic resonance imaging equipment enables us to immediately display on a nearby computer the letters that you just watched.
What's the use of "visual reconstruction"? Yan Bin provides a few examples. "In the past, one could only perform written Search Engine requests, but thanks to image search, you can now use a photograph taken with your mobile and do a search on the internet; in the future, your eyes will replace your mobile, so that when you look for something, your computer will directly read and interpret your brain signals and automatically start searching and return the appropriate answer in a flash. "As for now, Yan Bin says, the precision level of such "mind-reading" is around 70%.
Mind-controlled machines, ie machines controlled with your "thoughts", are already working
In order to have a better understanding of what this "mind-reading" means, let's follow the reporter in the "superpowers" lab and see what's going on in there.
On the large work table, two robots about 50 cm high, one blue, the other red, stand up quietly and, suddenly, the little blue man starts moving: he moves forward, turns left, leans forward, shakes his head ... "I can control his movements with my thoughts," says a lab student who is wearing an unusual "cap" on her head, from where the "silent instructions " are being sent.
"Brain activity involves electrical propagation of nerve impulses. Before one can 'mind-control' objects, we need to 'read the mind' first", Yan Bin says. "The cap this student wears is fitted with electrodes which pick up her brain waves and transmit them to a computer; these data enable us to read her thoughts and to send them to the robot in the form of instructions, using a wireless device in order to 'mind control' it . When she thinks something, the robot performs the corresponding action."
Research conducted in China in this area has already made it possible to "mentally" control various devices and equipments, such as UAV takeoff and landing, moving or rotating a wheelchair, or automatically dialing a phone number on a mobile, etc. "We'll be able to mentally control household electrical appliances as well as vehicles; all that is controlled by a manual switch today may be controlled with thoughts in the future." One can already mentally turn off a lamp or switch on the air conditioner.
With its "Brain Project", China is already at the forefront
In the MRI room of the People's Hospital of Henan Province, a test subject is lying on a MRI table for an experiment in which he is shown successively the 5 letters C, H, I, N and A . As he watches the letters, the MRI captures the faint signals in his brain's visual area, and these signals are transmitted to a computer which, after complex operations, graphically reconstructs the images perceived by the test subject.
"Until now, we obtained an accuracy rate of 70%, which is already the highest in the world", the vice-director of the "Information processing for brain-machine cooperation" laboratory, Professor Tong Li says. Shi Dapeng, head of Radiology MRI department at the People's Hospital of Henan Province, points out that this brain-machine interface technology is at the forefront of human-machine communication technologies both in China and outside of China and that at the current state of research, the wide range of possible applications makes it worth it. "We will use these innovative IT technologies in the therapeutic management of patients and in pain alleviation."
In recent years, the United States, the European Union and Japan have launched major projects in the field of brain research.
For now, the "Brain Project" got the approval of the State Council [of the People's Republic of China] and has been classified as "priority science and technology project for the future development of China". It consists of the following 3 areas of research: understanding the brain, protecting the brain and creating an artificial brain.
"Our real-time MRI imaging data retrieval system for brain-machine communication is the best ever, nothing like this ever existed before", Yan Bin says.
In the future, humans will be granted the superpower of "controlling the surrounding world with their thoughts".
Why does your baby cry? Is it a whim or is she hungry, or sick, or in pain? Don't worry if she can't speak, for Mom and Dad will "read" in her mind.
Disabled people need a wheelchair to turn off a lamp a few meters away, this is not convenient. Now, it won't be necessary any more, just thinking about it and it will turn off by itself.
You have a burst of inspiration but no pen nearby? Nothing to take notes? Never mind ! Let your imagination run free, regardless of what and how much you're thinking, your computer will type it all by itself.
Wouldn't it be great to live such a simplified life? In his research lab, Yan Bin told us two exciting news: first, we already know how to read and decrypt the brain's electrical signals and then transmit a message allowing us to handle external objects; secondly, scientific progress is not limited to laboratory experiments but will reverberate into our lives soon.
However, for now, "mind-reading" technology has its limits. For example, the need for the person who wants to use this technique to wear on her head a specific equipment to measure brain activity, to apply a substance on her head to pick up brain waves more efficiently and to use an MRI device, in other words the need for a medium allowing mind reading. By pursuing this research, one day we won't need any "cap" or exterior equipment any more, just "thinking" will be sufficient to operate devices: when that time comes, we will possess the "superpower" of "controlling the surrounding world with our thoughts."
"The human brain is the most powerful and complex thing in the world; we have always wanted to control its extraordinary power and to connect it to everyday technology." Thanks to science, Yan Bin says, we hope we can apply technology to everyday life and that new technologies foster the creation of new industries. It already happened in Western countries where people are getting in new business resulting from recent advances in science, such as "neuroeconomy" and "neuromarketing", which are connecting science and everyday life "to help people and simplify their lives, that is our goal. " (Text: Zhang Jingyi / Photo: Ma Jian)
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