Neuro-computer interface as a global engine of progress
Neuro-computer interface (NCI) (also called the direct neural interface, brain interface, brain-computer interface) is a device or principle of operation designed to provide one-way or two-way communication between the brain and an electronic device.
In other words, NCI is a mechanism that allows you to control technology with the help of the “power of thought”. Research in this area began in the 1970s at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). In the mid-1990s, devices were developed that restored the damaged functions of hearing, vision, and lost motor skills.
One of the main reasons why NCI will become a catalyst for scientific and technological progress is the wide range of applicability of this technology.
One of the most promising directions for the development of NCI is medicine. NCI will allow you to create prostheses with high responsiveness, and it will be possible to manipulate prostheses of this kind along with healthy organs. The field of neurology, neuroprosthetics, deals with the creation and implantation of various artificial devices for the restoration of functional disorders of the nervous system and sensory organs. The most common neuroprosthesis is a cochlear implant, which is used to compensate for hearing loss in some patients with severe or severe neurosensory (sensorineural) hearing loss.
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However, medical NKI can be used not only in medicine. On the basis of neuroprosthetics technologies, it is later possible to create control systems for humanoid robots. For example, in the year 2000, the research team of Miguel Nicolasis was able to reproduce the movement of the monkey's forelimbs. The system worked in real time and was used to control the robot by means of an Internet connection. In practice, this kind of robots can be used for high-precision work, in places where human stay is impossible. Just as in the case of neuroprostheses, NCI will provide higher accuracy and responsiveness, which greatly increases the efficiency of the operator.
The development of NCI towards the recognition of mental images should give a powerful impetus to the development of areas related to modeling and design. NCI will significantly speed up and simplify the process of creating models and drawings. Tangible progress in this direction has the NeuroG group; the group is engaged in the creation of algorithms for recognizing visual images, and on April 25, 2011, the first public demonstration of the operation of the device for recognizing mental images took place. Unfortunately, at that time, the device recognized only 4 images.
The following method of practical application of NCI is difficult to attribute to any particular area. It is about the storage and transfer of knowledge and experience. The development of NCI in this direction will reduce the duration of training, as well as allow the creation of advanced knowledge bases, which will include the experience and knowledge of other specialists in this subject area. The very possibility of using NCI for transferring experience was confirmed by Miguel Nickelis and Mikhail Lebedev with colleagues from the Department of Neurobiology at Duke University (USA). They published a scientific work describing the world's first interface for transmitting signals from the brain to the brain via the Internet. In the course of the experiment, the first rat (coder) at Duke University performed sensorimotor tasks, requiring the choice of two options using tactile or visual stimuli. In the process of performing the task by the coder, the samples of brain activity were transmitted to the corresponding areas of the brain of the second rat (decoder) using intracortical stimulations (ICMS). At the same time, the rat decoder was physically located in Brazil.
Since the work of NCI is associated with a direct impact on the human nervous system, the most likely way to organize two-way communication between a person and a computer is to implant a module capable of intercepting, receiving (processing if necessary) and transmitting signals from the nervous system.
According to a survey conducted on the Internet, 72% of respondents believe that NCI will have a positive impact on the development of science and technology and life in general, 10% answered negatively, 18% found it difficult to answer the question, but on the question of consent for implantation of the module allowing to use NCI, only 35% responded positively, 24% refused, 32% were undecided, 9% offered their options. As a result of conversations with respondents, the main reasons for which people found it difficult to answer or gave a negative answer were identified:
In other words, NCI is a mechanism that allows you to control technology with the help of the “power of thought”. Research in this area began in the 1970s at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). In the mid-1990s, devices were developed that restored the damaged functions of hearing, vision, and lost motor skills.
One of the main reasons why NCI will become a catalyst for scientific and technological progress is the wide range of applicability of this technology.
One of the most promising directions for the development of NCI is medicine. NCI will allow you to create prostheses with high responsiveness, and it will be possible to manipulate prostheses of this kind along with healthy organs. The field of neurology, neuroprosthetics, deals with the creation and implantation of various artificial devices for the restoration of functional disorders of the nervous system and sensory organs. The most common neuroprosthesis is a cochlear implant, which is used to compensate for hearing loss in some patients with severe or severe neurosensory (sensorineural) hearing loss.
')
However, medical NKI can be used not only in medicine. On the basis of neuroprosthetics technologies, it is later possible to create control systems for humanoid robots. For example, in the year 2000, the research team of Miguel Nicolasis was able to reproduce the movement of the monkey's forelimbs. The system worked in real time and was used to control the robot by means of an Internet connection. In practice, this kind of robots can be used for high-precision work, in places where human stay is impossible. Just as in the case of neuroprostheses, NCI will provide higher accuracy and responsiveness, which greatly increases the efficiency of the operator.
The development of NCI towards the recognition of mental images should give a powerful impetus to the development of areas related to modeling and design. NCI will significantly speed up and simplify the process of creating models and drawings. Tangible progress in this direction has the NeuroG group; the group is engaged in the creation of algorithms for recognizing visual images, and on April 25, 2011, the first public demonstration of the operation of the device for recognizing mental images took place. Unfortunately, at that time, the device recognized only 4 images.
The following method of practical application of NCI is difficult to attribute to any particular area. It is about the storage and transfer of knowledge and experience. The development of NCI in this direction will reduce the duration of training, as well as allow the creation of advanced knowledge bases, which will include the experience and knowledge of other specialists in this subject area. The very possibility of using NCI for transferring experience was confirmed by Miguel Nickelis and Mikhail Lebedev with colleagues from the Department of Neurobiology at Duke University (USA). They published a scientific work describing the world's first interface for transmitting signals from the brain to the brain via the Internet. In the course of the experiment, the first rat (coder) at Duke University performed sensorimotor tasks, requiring the choice of two options using tactile or visual stimuli. In the process of performing the task by the coder, the samples of brain activity were transmitted to the corresponding areas of the brain of the second rat (decoder) using intracortical stimulations (ICMS). At the same time, the rat decoder was physically located in Brazil.
Since the work of NCI is associated with a direct impact on the human nervous system, the most likely way to organize two-way communication between a person and a computer is to implant a module capable of intercepting, receiving (processing if necessary) and transmitting signals from the nervous system.
According to a survey conducted on the Internet, 72% of respondents believe that NCI will have a positive impact on the development of science and technology and life in general, 10% answered negatively, 18% found it difficult to answer the question, but on the question of consent for implantation of the module allowing to use NCI, only 35% responded positively, 24% refused, 32% were undecided, 9% offered their options. As a result of conversations with respondents, the main reasons for which people found it difficult to answer or gave a negative answer were identified:
- Not wanting people to become cyborg, i.e., modifying their body in an artificial way;
- Fear of losing free will and becoming controlled by the hacker.
Bibliography
- Starokha A.V., Davydov A.V. Kochlear implantation - a promising direction of hearing aids // Bulletin of Siberian medicine.— 2004.— №4.— P.34—38
- Carmena, JM, Lebedev, MA, Crist, RE, O'Doherty, JE, Santucci, DM, Dimitrov, DF, Patil, PG, Henriquez, CS, Nicolelis, MAL (2003) Learning to control and grasping by primates. PLoS Biology, 1: 193–208.
- Enikeeva, Alfia, “Russian scientists will teach the computer to read minds,” Science and Technology of Russia, 2011-04-27
- Miguel Pais-Vieira, Michael Lebedev, Jing Wang, Miguel AL Nicolelis "A Brain-to-Brain Interface for Sharing of Sensorimotor Information", 2013-02-28
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/362797/
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