New Brain-Machine Interface Taps Human Smarts to Enhance Computers' Abilities, Instead of Vice-Versa

Researchers at Columbia University have recently begun experimentation with a device known as C3Vision (Cortically Coupled Computer Vision) that utilizes the brain's fast processing speed in conjunction with computational tasks in a synergistic manner. Utilizing a EEG cap on the head of the subject, a computer flashes images on a screen at a rate of 10 images/sec and the subconscious mind of the subject relates information to the computer at a comparable rate. In this way, things that seem out of the ordinary are systematically interpreted by the computer as the brain's signals deviate from an algorithm to typical thoughts analyzed by the accompanying computer system. Visual data, such as surface-to-air missile tracking has also been used in a similar fashion, detecting threats to public safety faster than a computer or human could do without the aid of any other instrumentation. With the combined power of both a human mind and a computer system, thought processes and visual recognition can be accelerated many times over to provide a unique human-computer complex capable of many new and innovative applications.

This article is of interest to me since I am predominantly focused on neurological research in the future, and the utilization of computer software in mapping different functions of the brain and their associated processes. Which technology such as this being developed, the human mind can push the limits of computation and analytical integration beyond that which was previously imagined. This technology can also be extended to those who are disabled to form sentences and communicative techniques with the assistance of computers at a rate much faster than what is currently available.

Source: http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-11/new-brain-computer-interface-taps-human-brainpower-enhance-computing