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From: roberts@cognos.uucp (Robert Stanley)
Newsgroups: comp.society.futures
Subject: Pre-vocalization for human-computer interfaces
Message-ID: <1790@cognos.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 18-Nov-87 10:01:52 EST
Article-I.D.: cognos.1790
Posted: Wed Nov 18 10:01:52 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 21-Nov-87 06:51:00 EST
References: <8711111913.AA01260@bu-cs.BU.EDU> <944@woton.UUCP>
Reply-To: roberts@cognos.UUCP (Robert Stanley)
Organization: Cognos Inc., Ottawa, Canada
Lines: 27
Summary: If you think that's scary....

If any of you were surprised and/or disturbed by the idea of using
pre-vocalization as a cue in human-computer interfaces, I commend to you
a paper published in the proceedings of the Third Conference on Artificial
Intelligence for Space Applications (Part I).  The conference was held in
Huntsville, Alabama, 2-3 November, 1987.  The paper is entitled "An Innovative
Workstation" and the author was James Villarreal from the Artificial
Intelligence Section / FM7, NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston,
Texas.

This paper discusses practical research already performed in using measurement
of electrical and magnetic fields generated in/by the brain to control
operations at a computer workstation.  The current prototype appears to be
limited to EBT (Eye/Brain/Task) technology, but this group appears to be funded
for more advanced research.

Note: detecting brain-generated magnetic fields (of the order of 10**-8 Gauss)
      has only become possible with the introduction of SQUID (Superconducting
      Quantum Interference Device) technology, which *requires*
      superconductors.  This would appear to be one potential area of
      revolution should room-temeperature superconductors become available.

Robert_S
-- 
R.A. Stanley             Cognos Incorporated     S-mail: P.O. Box 9707
Voice: (613) 738-1440 (Research: there are 2!)           3755 Riverside Drive 
  FAX: (613) 738-0002    Compuserve: 76174,3024          Ottawa, Ontario 
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