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Recent research shows that our brains generate the same wave patterns whether we perform an action or just think about it. For example, an immobilised person who tries to press a button on a control panel cannot move a finger, but his brain acts as if he has made the movement. The electrical activity his brain generates can be received and transmitted to the equipment. Currently this technology is limited in its application, but the following article on technology for the disabled from the British magazine Macformat gives a picture of what the future may hold. (Macformat is a magazine for Macintosh computer users. Anyone who wishes to reprint the article in a commercial newsletter should contact Macformat at the email address "[log in to unmask]" to discuss copyright issues.) --------------------------------------------------------- All Our Futures (from Macformat issue 42, October 1996) So what of the future? What more can be done for the disabled, and how soon might the futuristic technologies involved become the mainstream for everyone, including the able-bodied? In this series we've seen products that enable people with the most severe physical disabilities to control a Mac, such as the TongueTouch Keypad, which enables you to take full control of your Mac using just your tongue. But what if you don't even have that much control? What if your mind is active, but not your body? The answer is to tap into the mind directly. It's a bit like virtual reality in reverse - and surprisingly, the technology already exists today. The intriguingly named Other 90% Technologies has developed a device called the MindDrive. This slips onto your finger, and its inventors claim it can read your thought signals just like a lie detector. Unfortunately, the MindDrive was not available for us to test, but its creators say it will cost around 150 pounds (about $US225). Feeling skeptical? Don't be. IBVA Technologies Inc. has developed a similar device called the Interactive Brainwave Visual Analyser, which we have tested. This device straps to your head, with a number of electrodes that attach to the skin of your forehead. These read your brain waves and send signals to a transmitter box positioned towards the back of your head. The signals are then sent to a receiver unit that plugs into the serial port in your Mac, which can be up to 30 feet away. One of the supplied programs can convert this input into a three dimensional graph, showing your mind's activity across a range of brain wave frequencies. The amazing thing is that is works. You see distinct changes on the screen as you relax, problem solve, try to remember something and otherwise change your state of mind. So, by this time next year, will we be all thinking to our Macs? Sadly, probably not. The problem lies in the interpretation of this data - you can think words in your mind, but no program can make sense of the minute changes in brain wave patterns. For now, computer control with the brain comes in very basic forms. By relaxing you can make a QuickTime movie play, then, by thinking hard about something, make it stop. This may not sound very useful, but it is already being used to help hyperactive children learn to control themselves and calm down. And bearing in mind that some physically disabled people currently control their Macs with single switch devices that have only two states - on and off - perhaps it won't be too long before a highly practical use is found for these mindreading devices. Contacts (USA) -------------- * IBVA Technologies - 212 754 4282 Produces a head-mounted device that senses brain wave patterns * IntelliTools - 415 382 5959 Produces a special range of touch-sensitive keyboards and keyboard overlays * Mayer-Johnson - 619 550 0084 Special needs printed and computer resources, including a dedicated speech synthesizer * The Other 90% Technologies - 415 904 7070 Producer of the MindDrive, a cheap input device designed to read your thoughts * Queue - 203 335 0906 A large range of educational software and CD-ROMs Contacts (UK) ------------- * ABLAC - 01626 332233 Offers a wide range of educational software * The Concept Keyboard Company - 01962 843322 Specialists in touch-sensitive overlay keyboards * Don Johnston Special Needs - 01925 241642 Specialists in in special needs hardware and software * Dyslexia Educational Resources - 0181 682 4522 Produces a catalogue of educational software particularly suited to the dyslexic * IANSYST 0171 607 5844 Educational and special needs software for a range of computer formats * Iona Software - 0181 241 8925 A variety of reasonably priced educational products * The Literacy Development Company - 01277 229093 Provides programs that focus closely on improving literacy * Rickitt Educational Media - 01458 253636 Offers general educational software as well as special needs products * SEMERC - 0161 627 4469 Range of educational hardware and software at low prices -------------------------- Bruce Wallace, brother of Ken 60/3 Sydney, Australia, [log in to unmask]