I learned to type using only my thoughts

always wanted to control a computer with my mind, and this week I got to do just that. I was at the Wadsworth Center in Albany, where brain injury researcher Jonathan Wolpaw is developing a computer-brain interface system that allows people who are paralysed communicate with their loved ones through a computer screen.

I typed text on a computer with my thoughts

The system itself is surprisingly simple. The first step is to don a hat resembling a swim cap that records brain activity thanks to a set of gel-filled electrodes embedded in the fabric. Then you’re asked to concentrate on a specific letter within a matrix of other letters on a computer screen. Each letter displays a unique flashing pattern, so when you focus on one, your brain activity mirrors that letter’s flashing pattern, and the computer can figure out which part of the flashing matrix has caught your attention. Writing a whole word with this system certainly isn’t quick — picking out a single letter takes about 15 seconds — and the cap I had to wear definitely wasn’t comfortable, but it still worked. I typed text on a computer with my thoughts.


http://www.theverge.com/2014/11/14/7221215/typing-text-with-your-thoughts-translating-sign-language-with-a