Try to think of something. About anything. The thoughts in your head will form some kind of phrases. Now try starting an internal dialogue. Again, on any topic. Do you think that everything that you “say” in your head no one will be able to recognize until you say it out loud? Yes, this is true, but thanks to a new device created by MIT employee Arnav Kapoor, it became possible to record your internal dialogue. Even if you don't say anything at this moment.
Why read minds?
Strictly speaking, the new device does not "read minds" in the usual sense, if you think about it. The gadget, dubbed AlterEgo, works by reading the smallest neuromuscular signals sent by the brain to the vocal cords and the muscles of the throat and tongue. These signals are sent by the brain whenever we want to say something. The device processes the received signals and translates them into words or text. The user hears the processed signal through a speaker or through a bone conduction device, transmitting sound through the bones of the skull to the ear.
Kapoor is currently testing the device on people with disabilities at various rehab centers in Boston. The majority of patients suffer from hearing impairment caused by stroke, cerebral palsy or various neurodegenerative diseases with damage to the auditory nerve.
Why do you need a new device
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In fact, helping patients with hearing impairments is not limited to. The gadget can be used in everyday life.
The device's potential is enormous: you can use the system to control smart home devices, take notes during meetings, send text messages without even typing, and so on. AlterEgo, in theory, can even be used for simultaneous translation. You "think in one language" and the system translates all your thoughts into another in real time.
At the moment, there are only test samples of the AlterEgo device, but Arnav Kapoor plans to establish commercial production of gadgets in the near future. He has already submitted all the documents required for this. If we talk about plans for the future, the scientist wants to reduce the response time and increase the speed of the device, as well as work to ensure that the gadget is as affordable as possible to the consumer and at the same time does not lose functionality.
Vladimir Kuznetsov