Mind-reading computers turn heads at high-tech fair by Magdalena Rosova

Devices allowing people to write letters of play pinball just using the power of their brains were the biggest boom at the world's biggest high-tech fair. Crowds were lured to see a man wearing a cap with electrodes playing pinball with great proficiency without using hands. The electrodes monitor the brain waves associated with the man's thoughts and send the information to a computer, which moves the flippers. Scientist believe the technology invention may be used for more than just a fun. They are researching ways to monitor drivers' brain waves to improve reaction times in a crash. Scientists say that in an emergency stop situation, the brain kicks in about 200! milliseconds before driver reacts. Michael Tangermann from the Berlin Brain Computer Interface said that in an emergency situation drivers automatically braked. The scientists do not want to take away that kind of control, but they realize that there are many things the car can do in the crucial time, for example tighten the seat belt. A car using the brain-wave monitoring technology can also warn driver when he is sleepy and advise him to take a brake. Another gadget allows users to control robots by brain power. Scientists also developed a similar electrode cap that allows people to write without using their hands. The computer register the stimulated brain waves of the person and the chosen letters appear on the screen. It takes about four minutes to write a word of five letters, but researchers believes that they will speed the technology up in the future. The technology is ideal for disabled people, it may help them to communicate and control devices using ! the brain.

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by Magdalena Rosova for SigEx Ventures (http://sigexventures.com)

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