Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!nrl-cmf!ames!ucbcad!ucbvax!BU-CS.BU.EDU!bzs From: bzs@BU-CS.BU.EDU (Barry Shein) Newsgroups: comp.society.futures Subject: IEF007ACA: WRONG THOUGHT OR PRE-VOCALIZATION Message-ID: <8711111913.AA01260@bu-cs.BU.EDU> Date: Wed, 11-Nov-87 14:13:22 EST Article-I.D.: bu-cs.8711111913.AA01260 Posted: Wed Nov 11 14:13:22 1987 Date-Received: Sat, 14-Nov-87 03:05:20 EST Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Organization: The ARPA Internet Lines: 90 Date: Tue, 10 Nov 87 22:00:17 EST From: Michael Travers To: viv-core@MEDIA-LAB.MEDIA.MIT.EDU, prog-d@MEDIA-LAB.MEDIA.MIT.EDU Subject: interesting but scary interface technology I thought of this technique a few years ago, but I was too scared by the possible repressive uses of it to pursue it, or even mention it much. Now I see other people are. ----------------------------------------------------------------- This message is aimed at you people out there on the UsetNet community who are doing (or know of someone doing) research in the area of Electromyography and Covert Oral Behavior. An abstract of what we are doing follows --- if you know of anyone who is working on something similiar, we would most certainly like to get in touch. Please contact: Dr. Howard I. Thorsheim Department of Psychology St. Olaf College Northfield, MN 55057 USA (507)-663-3144 ---------------------------- ABSTRACT FOLLOWS ------------------------------- The Possibility of a Thought-Recognition Interface Walter D. Poxon Craig D. Rice Academic Computing Center St. Olaf College Howard I. Thorsheim Department of Psychology St. Olaf College Northfield, MN 55057 An ideal for human-computer interaction is approaching the here-and-now. To date, any interaction between humans and computers has taken place through the use of keyboards, or more recently, voice recognition hardware, and other specially-designed input devices. Keyboards provide a reasonably efficient means of interacting with a machine and allow for the entry of very complex commands and data sets. Voice recognition systems offer a more natural means of communication, but have limitations in their ability to recognize large or specialized vocabularies. The drawback common to these and all current human-computer interaction systems is that they require that human thoughts be transformed into overt actions in order to be recognized by the computer; that is, users must type their thoughts, or say them, or draw them. A more natural human-computer interface would have none of these drawbacks. It would be able to recognize and respond to covert human behavior rather than requiring overt signals. Determining the possibility and practicality of such an interface is one of our current goals. Through the analysis of electromyographic (EMG) signals of the covert oral behavior phenomenon [McGuigan and Winstead, 1974], [Thorsheim, McGuigan, and Davis, 1975], produced while a subject speaks or thinks preassigned syllables, it is anticipated that unique, reproduceable digital patterns may be identified. By linking these patterns to the syllables or words that they represent, a new system of communication may be built whereby the machine interprets these signals as its source of input in place of the codes generated by the traditional keyboard interface. The current stage of our research is to characterize the EMG signals generated during covert oral behavior and assess the feasibility of using currently-available microcomputer resources to process and interpret these signals using common analog to digital conversion equipment and Fourier analysis techniques. Long-term goals include the building of subject-independent libraries of "command patterns" and the referencing of these libraries to allow for the control of a text editor without the use of a keyboard. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Craig D. Rice Math Deptartment Computer Systems Manager Academic Computer Center Systems Programmer USMAIL: St. Olaf College Northfield, MN 55057 UUCP: ..{ihnp4,umn-cs}!stolaf!ricec AT&T: Work: (507)-663-3096 Home: (507)-663-2191 Data: (507)-663-2191 ("cinta" midnight-6am)