This Device Can Hear You Talking to Yourself
MrPlow writes:
Submitted via IRC for AndyTheAbsurd
AlterEgo, [Arnav] Kapur's new wearable device system, can detect what you're saying when you're talking to yourself, even if you're completely silent and not moving your mouth.
The technology involves a system of sensors that detect the minuscule neuromuscular signals sent by the brain to the vocal cords and muscles of the throat and tongue. These signals are sent out whenever we speak to ourselves silently, even if we make no sounds. The device feeds the signals through an A.I., which "reads" them and turns them into words. The user hears the A.I.'s responses through a microphone that conducts sound through the bones of the skull and ear, making them silent to others. Users can also respond out loud using artificial voice technology.
[...] Kapur is currently testing the device on people with communication limitations through various hospitals and rehabilitation centers in the Boston area. These limitations could be caused by stroke, cerebral palsy or neurodegenerative diseases like ALS. In the case of ALS, the disease affects the nerves in the brain and spinal cord, progressively robbing people of their ability to use their muscles, including those that control speech. But their brains still send speech signals to the vocal cords and the 100-plus muscles involved in speaking. AlterEgo can capture those signals and turn them into speech. According to Kapur's research[pdf], the system is about 92 percent accurate.
Source: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/device-can-hear-voice-inside-your-head-180972785/
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