True facts: When you have an idea or a sensation, your brain sends forth faint but unique electrical impulses that correlate to that feeling or thinking. Electroencephalography (EEG) is a technique for recording and analyzing brain waves that have been used in medicine since 1924. We've all seen the electrode caps on shaved heads, the gel spots, and hundreds of tiny cables that make up traditional EEG systems. The setup is time-consuming, the results are unappealing, and the devices are quite painful to wear
The last of the criticisms were particularly problematic for Philip Low, a mathematician and biology student at the University of Chicago 2007, who was conducting bird studies. Low discussed the difficulties he and other researchers experienced in determining if birds dreamt in a phone conversation with The Huffington Post. He said there was evidence that birds "replayed tunes in their thoughts" while sleeping, but EEG data were highly inaccurate. "In order to connect the electrodes, the birds had to be medicated to sleep," Low explained. However, because the medications disrupted the birds' sleep habits, Low's findings were ambiguous.
So Low set out to create a new type of EEG that would revolutionize mind reading — a field that he's on the verge of profoundly altering once more five years later.
Low had achieved his first success in 2009, with "maths so basic it could fit on a page." Researchers were able to capture electrical impulses from avian brains using only a single electrode thanks to the algorithms he developed, a technique known as "single-channel EEG." They also allowed Low to graduate from the University of San Diego with a one-page thesis and a 350-page appendix ("the smallest in the university's history," he stated.)
Low, on the other hand, was ready to move on from birds at the end of the year. He aspired to create a single-channel human gadget. When he addressed skeptical investors, he said that "every door was shut in my face."
Low, on the other hand, took chances, seeking loans from as many lenders as he could and maxing out every credit card he had. The money he obtained allowed him to create a single-channel EEG machine for humans (dubbed the "iBrain" just before the iPhone was released) as well as a tiny firm called "NeuroVigil." Low rose to prominence once it was revealed that he was aiding Stephen Hawking. But, he noted, the gadgets he's made thus far are "just for medical and research usage."
Mario Frank is not an EEG expert. He informed The Huffington Post via email that his Berkeley, California-based research focuses on computer hacking, including "key-logging, timing assaults, and other techniques." However, commercial single-channel EEG devices "are becoming increasingly popular in the gaming and entertainment sectors," according to Frank's study group. The group has written a report that examines the evolving EEG sector as it is now characterized by companies like Emotiv, a commercial EEG system manufacturer.
Could malevolent hackers use these gadgets to gain access to our minds? According to some, the answer is yes. Hackers could build "brain spyware" apps by gaining access to the software used to record and analyze electrical signals picked up by the EEG, according to a story on mind-hacking published by Gizmodo. Frank told The Huffington Post in an email that he believes EEG systems are a unique vector for cyberattacks.
"Experiments have shown that an attacker with access to the raw EEG signal may predict the end-secrets user's far more accurately than random guessing. This implies that as more people use this technology and more apps are produced by third-party developers, there is a potential that malicious software would target the user's privacy "Frank wrote.
However, as nefarious as mind-reading may appear, EEG systems have the potential to improve existing technologies that aid humanitarian efforts. Christine King, a biomedical engineering student at the University of California in Irvine, has designed and tested mind-controlled robotic legs that might one day allow paraplegic people to walk again.
In an email to The Huffington Post, King expressed optimism about the ability of EEG devices to "improve the independence and quality of life" of persons with mobility-impairing injuries. The legs are now in the early phases of development, being tested solely on non-paralyzed participants on indoor treadmills, but new research from King's team suggests that paralyzed testers may try the legs in the near future.
With his newest innovation, a gadget the size of a quarter that he wants to commercialize next year, Low hopes to accelerate medical progress. The "iBrain 3" from Low will be the first FDA-approved EEG gadget on the market, allowing it to be used for both medicinal and recreational reasons. Low stated that his objective is to get the product's price down to around $100 so that "a lot of people" can use it. With all of the applications for EEG technology that the world has already discovered — video games, computer games, painting, composing, mind-controlling cat ears, and even allowing people to walk again — a small EEG machine cost under $100 could be just what the world needs to make mind reading a reality.
Low, on the other hand, may become his own greatest adversary in the process. Low says he doesn't want the iBrain 3 to be used as "some toy for people to purchase at Christmas," even if he aims to make it financially viable. He has little hope that the substance will be employed in serious medical research. He does plan to make the iBrain 3's API public, which means he won't be able to regulate what "gizmos" people create for the single-channel gadget once NeuroVigil starts selling it.
The "gizmos" are becoming increasingly widespread with the introduction of single-channel EEG. Remember the "Shippo" tail from Neurowear that reads your thoughts? DARPA's mind-reading, enemy-spotting glasses come to mind. These gadgets are only the beginning, with EEG becoming more accessible than ever before.
