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July 20, 2008 : Mind over matter as scientists use brainpower to make wishes come true
Now British scientists are turning the vision into reality with a device that allows objects to be manipulated with brain waves.
The prototype, developed at Essex University, can already be used to play simple computer games. By imagining a movement, the wearer of the hat-shaped device can tell the computer to move an object around a screen or a robot around a room.
The researchers hope their technology will eventually allow people to move wheelchairs and drive cars with their thoughts.
To pick up the signal from the brain, the scientists use a cap fitted with electrodes that detect changes in the electrical activity produced by the neurons.
When a person wearing the cap imagines a particular action, such as moving a hand, it produces a distinct pattern of signals that a computer learns to recognise.
Daily Telegraph
