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This Defense Intelligence Reference Document from the Defense Intelligence Agency, dated 23 March 2010, was produced under the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications (AAWSA) Program. It surveys invasive and noninvasive brain-machine interface technologies for controlling external devices without limb-operated interfaces. The technologies covered include EEG, MEG, fMRI, NIRS, and implanted electrode arrays. It concludes that noninvasive electrical monitoring is the most promising near-term approach. In the long term, it favors invasive single-neuron cortical connections that use optical stimulation or chip-based arrays.
“The Times”18 pages
UNCLASSIFIED/)' Pett :SPPll!ltllt '11815 .,.LY Technological Approaches to Controlling External Devices in the Absence of Limb-Operated Interfaces Introduction Since the advent of modern interactive control of computers, technologies have been sought to directly connect the biological and the physical to form a seamless entity. While science fiction explores the possibilities of shared consciousness between brains and mainframes, real-life scientists work toward an equally fantastic but more pedestrian goal of eliminating required electromechanical human-machine interfaces (HMis). Such technologies promise integration of thought and computer-controlled action, without the need for a limb-operated device to translate intent from physiological networks to physical circuits. This paper first briefly reviews underlying neural structure, function, and activity to provide background on the type of signals and the scale of temporal changes that arise from conscious control within the nervous system. A short primer on brain-machine interfaces (BMis) is included at the end of the background material. This is followed by a survey of the state-of-the-art detection and stimulation technologies available utilizing noninvasive and invasive methods, including several studies that exemplify research paths currently being undertaken. Discussion brings together elements of the technology survey, application limitations, a timeline for useful commercial deployment, and predicted future research directions. Two technology research paths are highlighted as the most probable to produce functionally useful devices ( defined as nearly equal or even superior to the control capabilities of current HM Is) in the near and far term. The technology endpoint this paper seeks is thought-based operation of remote machinery during normal human activities without mechanical device interaction-that is, control of external devices without the need to go to a specified location, such as a shielded room; without the need to remain perfectly motionless to reduce signal noise; and without the need for interaction with a normal electro-mechanical device, such as an i-Phone or other handheld device with buttons and trackballs. Data transfer rates are sought to exceed 5-10 bits/second to be useful for operation of complex devices; this rate range and above is referred to as high-bandwidth BMis. Response time for a 1-of-N selection of commands is targeted at 300 milliseconds or less. These are the operational parameters assumed for final implementation unless some limitation or supercapability is described. The paper concludes that noninvasive electrical monitoring of neural activity, primarily reading combined action of muscles and neurons, is the most promising commercial technology in the near term. Inherent limitations in the noninvasive electrical approach require future development of different research paths. The paper argues, mainly by eliminating other approaches, that the most probable technology in the long term involves invasive single- neuron-based direct cortical connections to form a network of high-bandwidth duplex communication pathways. Currently the most promising technologies V UNCLASSIFIED/ /F8R 8Ffl@Itllt ~31!! :SHE I
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Report, from the dia collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is under it. 36 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.