Modern smartphones possess more than enough computing power to perform most tasks users need – browsing the Web, checking e-mail, instant messaging, watching video, writing, and more. Only a couple of issues would hold me back from ditching my laptop and using my phone as my primary computing device – the small screen size and the comparatively lousy input methods.
Admittedly, these are pretty major issues. Screen size is a necessary evil given the size requirements of phones, and these limitations affect the input devices as well. Touchscreens are inaccurate, and even the best thumb keyboards are cramped and force you to type slowly. If we could transcend a physical input device, say by interfacing with a phone through thought alone, it would go a long way to enabling people to more fully share information without the trouble of typing it out.
Researchers at Intel are busy working on ways to interface with televisions, computers and cell phones using only brain waves measured with a small sensor implanted in the brain:
Today, Intel’s Pomerleau said various research facilities are developing technologies to sense activity from inside the skull.
“If we can get to the point where we can accurately detect specific words, you could mentally type,” he added. “You could compose characters or words by thinking about letters flashing on the screen or typing whole words rather than their individual characters.”
Researchers have already made great progress in enabling monkeys to control robot arms with their brains, and humans have been able to type limited messages using only their thoughts, even posting to Twitter just by thinking about it. Combine this with a tiny virtual retinal display or some way to send optical signals directly to the brain and you’ve got yourself a total revolution in the way humans share and receive information, as well as the death of the traditional monitor/keyboard/mouse means of interacting with computers.