One step closer to telekinesis
China has created a system for transmitting brain activity via radio waves
Stepan Ikaev, Hi-tech+
Scientists from The Engineering University of the People's Liberation Army Air Force of China has developed a technology to control electromagnetic waves using natural brain activity. The new system translates brain activity into radio waves, and then redirects the signal to the connected electronics. This format of work, the authors said, will be useful in designing wireless gadgets for health monitoring and in creating military equipment that can be controlled using the power of thought.
According to the press release of One step closer to moving things with our thoughts, scientists have proven the viability of their system in a laboratory experiment. They used a new programmable material that is capable of generating and manipulating radio waves. Using this technology, the authors created a meta-surface connected to a primitive version of the brain-computer interface. This neurointerface performed only one function — it transmitted brain waves to the meta-surface wirelessly, via Bluetooth.
The described part of the study was not a breakthrough — similar systems have long been developed by leading IT companies around the world. The main achievement of Chinese engineers was the ability to interpret and translate brain waves into a radio signal. To do this, the scientists wrote their own software, which acted as a "bridge" for two previously unrelated types of waves.
"Our technology offers users a universal way to manipulate electromagnetic waves using brain waves," said Professor Wang Jiafu, a leading researcher at the Air Force Engineering University in northwestern Shaanxi Province.
According to Jiafu, the programmed meta-surface accurately perceived brain waves from the subject, and then broadcast similar commands in a radio format. Now we are talking about the simplest actions, but in the future the technology can be improved to translate more complex brain signals. In the future, the technology will be useful, for example, for remote health tracking or for military radars controlled without traditional manipulators, the authors explained.
Article by Zhu et al. Remotely mind-controlled metasurface via brainwaves is published in the journal eLight – VM.
This is not the first time that brainwave control of electronics has been mentioned by Chinese researchers. Earlier this month, a group from Southeastern University in Nanjing established an "inter-brain connection" between two volunteers using similar technology. The meta-surface programmed in that study sent messages from one person to another, converting brain signals into radio waves.
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