The talking Brain
The computer was taught to turn thoughts into words Alexey Tymoshenko, GZT.RU based on the materials of the University of Utah
The Brain Speaks: Scientists Decode Words from Brain Signals
A machine has been created that converts thoughts into words – more precisely, a speech synthesizer controlled by the electrical activity of the brain.
The device, developed by scientists from the University of Utah, is not designed to be able to convert thoughts into words and immediately write them down in a notebook. It should make life easier for people who, for whatever reason, cannot speak, but have not lost clarity of thought - like, for example, the famous astrophysicist Stephen Hawking.
How it works
16 electrodes implanted under the skull and adjacent to the surface of the brain pick up electrical signals, transmit them to an amplifier, the amplifier sends them to a microprocessor and it already compares electrical impulses with those stored in its memory.
Microelectrodes on the background of a coin – the picture gives an idea of the scale of the device,
which is supposed to be placed close to the surface of the brain.
Source: Spencer Kellis, The University of Utah
(The real diameter of this coin, the "jubilee" 25-cent piece
with the symbols of the University of Utah on the reverse, – 24.3 mm,
approximately from the Russian ruble – VM.)
If the incoming signal coincides with one of the reference signals, a command is given to the speech synthesizer to pronounce the word that corresponds to this signal.
Yellow dots are the places where the main electrodes were placed (to search for the focus of epilepsy).
The red squares are the areas where the "speech" contacts were placed;
it can be seen that a large-scale intervention is not necessary for such a task.
Source: Kai Miller, University of Washington
In an experiment involving a volunteer who had an operation to implant electrodes for the treatment of epilepsy, the person first read out ten different words in a row, and physiologists recorded the activity of his brain. "Yes", "no", "more", "less", "hot", "cold", "hello", "bye", "eat" and "drink" – each of these expressions gave different electrical signals and, most importantly, these signals were practically impossible to confuse with brain activity at rest.
Ten words is quite a lot, considering that in some cases there is simply no other way for a person to send a message. Hawking, for example, barely moves one muscle of his cheek and all he can do is slowly, at a rate of several characters per minute, type text, sequentially going through the letters on the screen; here we are talking about an almost instant message.
What can it give?
Perhaps in a few decades the articles in the heading "Science" will not be printed on the keyboard, but only mentally spoken to themselves, a smart chip independently converts the author's thoughts into text. But for this, as follows from the message of the researchers, a number of obstacles will have to be overcome.
Electrodes of different types directly on the surface of the brain.
The patient had a skull fragment temporarily removed during the operation,
since surgeons needed to find and eliminate the focus of epilepsy
(experiments with the "speech chip" were a secondary task,
for the sake of which the operation would not be done).
Source: Courtesy of University of Utah Department of Neurosurgery
First, the system described above uses thin electrodes implanted in the skull. Which, in general, do not damage the brain (since they are adjacent to its surface without penetrating inside), but, at least, are inconvenient and, in addition, must remain functional for many years in a row. Special materials of the new generation may solve some of the problems – but their development and bringing to industrial production will definitely take a lot of time.
Secondly, the accuracy of the method is low. In the "yes-no" pair, for example, the system makes 10 to 24% of errors, and when it is necessary to identify a word in case of greater uncertainty (choose one of all 10 options), there are even more errors – 52%. This is not at all as if the system could recognize several thousand words from the stock of an adult literate person. Imagine what would happen if the system messes up every sixth word or, worse, gives out a desire to quickly go home from work instead of writing this article...
It is not very clear how to deal with words that sound the same, but are completely different in meaning, synonyms and other linguistic traps that sometimes confuse experienced translators. But it is clear that there is nothing fantastic in the idea of recognizing an unspoken word.
And the next step on the way to more complex systems has already been outlined: next time scientists intend to take 121 electrodes in the form of a matrix of 11x11 contacts. An increase in the number of signals, according to physiologists, can radically increase the accuracy of recognition and expand the vocabulary available to a person. And in addition to the mechanical limbs controlled by the brain, the paralyzed patients will also have artificial speech.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru 09.09.2010