Almost Like Neo in Matrix

Looking at that new wireless keyboard or mouse for your new Visa machine? Forget the wireless, try keyboardless and mouseless. That’s right, it may not be long before you’ll have the opportunity to “jack” right into your computer. This recent article on CNN Money and Business 2.0 teases us with just that, but is it really a tease?

Nagle, a 26-year-old quadriplegic, was hooked up to a computer via an implant smaller than an aspirin that sits on top of his brain and reads electrical patterns. Using that technology, he learned how to move a cursor around a screen, play simple games, control a robotic arm, and even – couch potatoes, prepare to gasp in awe – turn his brain into a TV remote control. All while chatting amiably with the researchers. He even learned how to perform these tasks in less time than the average PC owner spends installing Microsoft Windows.

The article goes on to say it may not be long before even using implants would be unneeded:

Brain-reading technology is improving rapidly. Last year, Sony took out a patent on a game system that beams data directly into the mind without implants. It uses a pulsed ultrasonic signal that induces sensory experiences such as smells, sounds and images.

I wasn’t aware of that type of development by Sony, imagine the impact of being able to play console games like Halo2 and being able to control your character with your mind and not just a controller. I can’t remember the details now, but I remember doing a research paper in high school about military technology and the pursuit of technology similar to this for fighter pilots to be able to both fly the plane, lock-on enemy targets and fire weapons with their brain. Instead of “fly-by-wire”, we’d be moving to “fly-by-nerves-and-thought”.