New Brain-Machine Interface Taps Human Smarts to Enhance Computers' Abilities, Instead of Vice Versa
The Adult Visual Cortex Neurons in the brain's visual pathway can transmit images to the brain faster than the conscious mind can assess them. But hook a computer to that brain and its visual pathway becomes a supercharged analysis tool Nrets via Wikimedia Brain-machine interfaces hold potential for a variety of ends, from helping the neurologically or physically disabled communicate and interact with their environments, to creating thought-controlled computers that augment the brain with computing power. A group of researchers at Columbia are turning that model on its ear, using brain power to augment computing tasks. Their device couples the human brain and computers to perform tasks neither could do as efficiently on their own. The device, known as C3Vision (cortically coupled computer vision) taps into the fast processing power of the brain to help computer programs manage complex problem, particularly those posed by image recognition. An electroencephalogram (EEG) cap on the...