Brain Computer Interface is an area of computer science that measures central nervous system activity. It is a direct communication channel between a computer and the brain. Scientists are trying to find ways to implement BCI.
Brain Computer Interface is an area of computer science that measures central nervous system activity. It is a direct communication channel between a computer and the brain. Scientists are trying to find ways to implement BCI. According to some research, some people are inherently not able to produce brain signals strong enough to operate BCI. This may partly be due to the fact that currently there aren’t BCI setups good enough to pick up brain signals when it’s weak. Researchers are trying to implement BCI to solve modern technologies’ problems.
We had a chance to talk to Ankit Singh who has been working on this tech at the University of Washington. He has studied Human Computer Interaction at University of Florida and has authored a book on ethical hacking. He has also worked with Stanford University to set up a web observatory. He created a Brain Computer Interface based infrastructure that enables a user to control every device in your home with emotions. If you’re coming back from work after a long day and you feel tired, your ambient lights will change colors, AC will turn on and soft relaxing music will start playing in the background. This is just one of the many scenarios that can be customized at will. Or how about receiving a text on your phone with a motivating and cheerful message when you’re feeling low? He has made it possible. He harnessed emotions to be used as a way to interact with computers and devices making them more intelligent. He created this infrastructure by combining BCI with Electroencephalography (EEG) and the Internet of Things (IoT). This technology uses a small EEG wireless headset to pick up brain signals and transmits them to a custom homebrew Edge Computing IoT device that does the signal processing and produces the output.
He is an honorary member of the Upsilon Pi Epsilon International Society for Computing and Information Discipline. We were amazed to know that he has a passion for racecar driving. You can reach him on Instagram (@aizen00x).
His device can be used across multiple fields from enhancing smart home experiences to advancing military weapons. Another application is not allowing a text to go through when it is being typed by the user in anger ensuring that they don’t regret it later. In the military, it can be used to trigger fire weapons at enemies when the device detects shock & can be used to train our soldiers by sensing their feelings.
The world is facing a dual challenge of developing technologies of the future on one hand and battling the pandemic on the other. We need more young innovators like Ankit, who are not only exploring the periphery of what all is possible technologically but also have an intention of using that knowledge so gained in solving practical problems faced by people. Soon you will be able to buy emotion-controlled devices as Mr. Singh will be launching his startup ‘The Error Company’ which will build smart products and devices around this technology.
