by: Murad Ahmed From: The Times April 25, 2013 10:27AM
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SAMSUNG is developing phones and tablets that can be operated through "mind control", as technology-makers race to create devices that can be run by thought alone.
The world's biggest seller of mobile phones has revealed that it has begun developing devices that can read brainwaves. Researchers at the Korean manufacturer's Emerging Technology Lab are working with academics at the University of Texas in Dallas to test mind-control devices to complete simple tasks, including launching an app, picking songs from a playlist or selecting a contact to make a phone call.
Samsung's device requires a user to wear a special skull cap that contains sensors and electrodes that can measure brain activity.
The company said that the technology was still at the testing stage and did not say when a completed product may become available. But Samsung believes that the system could help disabled people with mobility issues and, in time, become a new way for everyone to interact with their gadgets.
Insoo Kim, Samsung's lead researcher on the project, told the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Technology Review that “several years ago, a small keypad was the only input modality to control the phone, but nowadays the user can use voice, touch, gesture, and eye movement to control and interact with mobile devices. Adding more input modalities will provide us with more convenient and richer ways of interacting with mobile devices.”
During the research, subjects were shown repetitive visual patterns while the scientists monitored their brain activity. Soon, the subject could launch an app and play around within it just by concentrating on an icon, which looks like a flashing light on the screen. Users could make a selection every five seconds, with accuracy ranging from 80 to 95 per cent.
One problem with the technology is that the skull cap, attached to an array of wires, is cumbersome. But Samsung believes that it could create “a cap that people wear all day long”, by slimming it down and redesigning the sensors.
Other companies such as IBM, Emotiv and Neurosky are known to be creating brain-control systems.
Samsung's latest mobile phone, the Galaxy S4, can be controlled by the twitch of an eye. Google's Glass project is aiming to create high-tech spectacles that are operated through a combination of eye movements and voice gestures. Apple has also filed a patent for a “head mounted display” that lays out information directly in front of the eyes.
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