"The Berlin Brain-Computer Interface (BBCI) - dubbed the "mental typewriter" - was created by researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute in Berlin and Charité, the medical school of Berlin Humboldt University in Germany. It was shown off at the CeBit electronics fair in Hanover, Germany," reports the Cognitive Labs blog.
"The machine makes it possible to type messages onto a computer screen by mentally controlling the movement of a cursor. A user must wear a cap containing electrodes that measure electrical activity inside the brain, known as an electroencephalogram (EEG) signal, and imagine moving their left or right arm in order to manoeuvre the cursor around."
The story concludes: "The next stage is to develop a cap that does not have to be attached directly to the scalp. This should make the device easier to use and cause less skin irritation for the wearer."
Comment: Inteeresting, but this has been done before, eg see Thought control under your hat. According to Beyond the Big Barrier, an article by Toby Howard in Personal Computer World, February 1996: "The idea of using our brains to directly control a machine isn't particularly new. As far back as 1967, Edmond Dewan described experiments using subjects wired to an electroencephalograph (EEG), which records and graphs the electrical activity of the brain. With practice, the subjects were able to reduce the amplitude of their brains' alpha rhythms, to transmit Morse code to a teleprinter."
