View Full Version : Army Mind-Machine Interface
I couldn't find this anywhere else so if its a repost feel free to delete or move it, but i certainly think its worth a read. I certainly find it interesting if for no other reason then sci-fi has been predicting something to this effect for years, Neurohelmets in Battletech, or being able to "jack" into a computer system a la Gibson or Shirow. Makes me wonder what soldier think about the prospect and how far would a soldier go? If cybernetics were mandatory for the soldiering profession how much would it change the level of commitment to be a soldier, interesting times ahead.
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1841108,00.html?xid=rss-topstories
I couldn't find this anywhere else so if its a repost feel free to delete or move it, but i certainly think its worth a read. I certainly find it interesting if for no other reason then sci-fi has been predicting something to this effect for years, Neurohelmets in Battletech, or being able to "jack" into a computer system a la Gibson or Shirow. Makes me wonder what soldier think about the prospect and how far would a soldier go? If cybernetics were mandatory for the soldiering profession how much would it change the level of commitment to be a soldier, interesting times ahead.
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1841108,00.html?xid=rss-topstories
Hope they develop a good "porn" filter on that thing before they decide to hook a soldiers' brainwaves up to a radio...:D
Slantwire
09-18-2008, 06:25
Hope they develop a good "porn" filter on that thing before they decide to hook a soldiers' brainwaves up to a radio...:D
My first two thoughts were "girl walks by" and "just got an idiot order." I can hold my tongue, but my brain....
I wonder how it receives in a fellow soldier's head. Hearing your buddy's voice in your own head without him actually talking would be interesting.
i figured it would convert the read brainwaves into speech and the receiver would hear speech through standard means ie an earpiece.
wallowinginfun
09-18-2008, 18:38
I think would think it would be even more useful for controlling complicated equipment, such as aircraft.
Or the Iron Man armor. ;)
or games!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826100006&Tpk=ocz%20neural
also a review.
http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews.php?/input_devices/ocz_neural_impulse_actuator_nia_-_the_log/4
My thought is that anything related to electronic data can conceivably be hacked. I'm all for better technology and gear, as long as everyone realizes that it does not replace a reliable weapon and training.
Just what we need, something to teach the Nintendo generation how to be eve lazier then they are now... How is this kind of technology going to balance with the Pittsburgh school systems 50% is good enough program?
Won't be fun to be wired in to your weapon system, and the EMP bomb or microwave gun hits you.
Won't be fun to be wired in to your weapon system, and the EMP bomb or microwave gun hits you.
That sounds like that would smart!
Philkilla
09-28-2008, 19:34
I could add a bit to this, but it may reveal my "1/2 xbox generation" nature.
Sinister
09-28-2008, 20:48
So the joke goes (thanks, CC!)...
The GI wakes up in a hospital room. The nurse fetches the doctor who explains to him, "You were blown up in an ambush. You lost your right hand and arm. You're lucky -- we replaced it with a Bionic with super-human strength. Be careful though -- it's voice-controlled, but we haven't worked out all the bugs -- it takes commands literally. Again, be careful!"
The troop says, "Thanks, doc," and ponders the possibilities. He finds he can throw hand grenades like an M203, and lift a Ma Deuce effortlessly -- but his gross motor movements are choppy, like a big-dog puppy.
He gets into the shower and thinks, "Hey, I think I'll rub one out." As he soaps up a chub he commands, "Jerk off."
To his shock and horror the hand yanks his gear clean off. "OWW! F@CK ME!" at which point his arm rams his junk into a sensitive area.
"OH, DAMN! WILL YOU LOOK AT THIS $HIT?!" at which point he gets stuck in the eye.
(Sorry for the visual :o)
I think a lot of these issues are small talk right now anyway...
BHO has already said he would put his jackboots on and stomp out a big chunk of "wasteful defense spending" These gadgets cost money and it costs money to teach troops how to use them. If Obama sneaks his way into the white house most of the R&d money for the mind reader commo helmet will be spent on the Federal Gay Married Couples Research Committee, the Ban Firearms Now Commission, the Federal Study Group for Faster Abortions, and the Politicians against Individual Thought program. Then of course it will cost money rewriting the tax code in a way to convince us that a 1000 dollar rebate check as a reward for working families is a better idea than just balancing the federal budget.
The man is a wolf in sheeps clothing and right now the amount of mindless apostles he is gathering is downright staggering. His abuse of the legal system to gain power is astonishing. He doesn't mind being called a liberal because he knows "liberal" is easier to sell than "fascist"
I am worried that I am going to spend the next four years wearing an uncomfortable tin-foil hat.
Ret10Echo
10-01-2008, 04:13
I am worried that I am going to spend the next four years wearing an uncomfortable tin-foil hat.
Yes Billy...but as long as you can mount a camera to your foil hat is there really a problem?..... :D
Other potential issues:
When they are done, where will the "off" button be and can supervisors remotely activate them?
UCMJ violations for thinking bad thoughts???? (Mass formations)
Where are my legal advisors about "intent"?
When certain people walk into room will that "station off-the-air" tone start?
Under e-government does that mean all the thoughts are public record?
Does this change the maximum effective range of an excuse?
:munchin
I think we are all getting a little ahead of ourselves. Our brain does not operate like a "Film strip". They are having to train these machines on an individual level to understand very strong neural wavelengths. The nuances of an Amygdala are far more subtle than a Hippocampus / Cerebellum exchange.
To put it in a more understandable fashion, the Amygdala is the primary center for emotional response. An example would be Fear, or Arousal. When you experience any stimulus such as arousal, it is first processed by your Amygdala. Once a determination has been made by the Amygdala you then experience a response. In a case of Arousal, the process would work as such:
1)Your optic nerve receives neuro-chemical responses created by your eye from light reflected off a pretty woman.
2)The Occipital Lobe immediately relays this information to your Amygdala.
3)Your Amygdala determines from the neuro-chemical transmission that she is a "hot babe".
4)With this your Amygdala sends a recall request to your Frontal Lobe on past occassions of physiological data related to mating.
5)You then begin to process this information within your temporal lobe so as to imagine this prospective mate in what some would call a "sinful scenario".
6)All the while your Amygdala is sending all the neccessary chemical responses throughout your body to prepare for the deed.
We understand this process because we have the subject in a controlled environment with extremely powerful sensor arrays. We also employ massive CPU banks to process the information piece by piece. We don't yet understand how the brain filters arousal on seeing an attractive woman, from say, her grandmother next to her.
With speaking to one's self though, you are employing cognitive -or- voluntary motor functions which are a much more potent response. The best example I have been taught is to imagine a firefight. You hear the reports of small arms fire clattering all about you. The noise is almost indistinguishable from one another. Then the .50 cal starts unloading, and you know exactly what it is and where it is.
I am sorry but technology won't allow precise "mind reading" for quite some time. We just do not have the computing power, or the electronic sensor technology to distinguish the "finer" functions of our brain. I am not saying this will never be possible though. Today's science is yesterday's magic.
-Doc Z
frostfire
10-01-2008, 13:50
what's/where's step 7? The flooding of brain with dopamine and endorphins :D ???
wallowinginfun
10-01-2008, 21:56
Not that I know anything about anything, but if the machine interpreting the signals in your brain could be tuned well enough it could possibly be faster and easier to use than joysticks and throttles for pilots. If it were cheap enough it could work for vehicle turrets too. With the right sensors it could be a powerhouse. It could tighten the OODA loop considerably.
I don't think there's any possibility to directly affect brain function with this either.
Geek spiel over.