OT: Hardware-to-Organism Interfaces (h2oi)

[dmm]

Could use some ideas on the following:

1) What kinds of h2oi might be useful?
Example: electronic to nerve cells

2) What practical uses could be found?
Example: improved artificial limbs

Prefer ideas that are based in reality (no X-men, please) and that would likely be acceptable to people (no Borg, please). But doesn't need to be currently "do-able."

TIA

[Puke]

obviously, interfaces for operating all sorts of complex machinery. Large ammounts of effort go into making effective manual interfaces for things like attack helocopters, jet fighters, and main battle tanks. if there were direct mind-machine interfaces, they would become much more effective.

I am sure that new vistas would also open up for computer operating systems and interfaces, and related technologies.

If you would like something less far-out, then artificial limbs are probably the leading example. also, things like chemical dispensors that can be implanted and will regulate the distribution of drugs or enzimes that the body needs.

an example of this, is a recent development in the treatment of diabeties. insulin producing cells have been developed that can be injected into the blood stream, and produce regulated ammounts of insulin, feeding off the nutrients in the blood of the subject. problem is, white blood cells tend to kill them off. so they are encased in a microscopic 'cage' (think wiffle-ball) which has openings large enough for nutrients to be absorbed and insulin to pass, but small enough to block white blood cells.

[geoschmo]

This recent pop sci article on the subject blew me away. I think we are very close to practical applications. It's life altering stuff. I think it's especially cool the way the brain can "remap" itself and get to the point where it treats the machine parts as part of the body. Very cool.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

if there were direct mind-machine interfaces, they would become much more effective.

bob: 'man, that sergeant is a jerk. maybe i should hit him with this jeep.'

bob: 'oops.'

bill: 'what's the sergeant doing now? thirty?'

fred: 'yeah, i gotta get me some cybernetic upgrades'

30 minutes later, commander's office: 'did you have to wreck the jeep?!'

yeah, there could be a few problems.

and this looks like it could really do the sci-fi horror and let the government actually read and maybe control your thoughts.

tinfoil helmet, anyone?

qoute from that page: 'DARPA is famous for funding futuristic technology of all sorts, from the precursor to the Internet to the ill-fated terrorist futures market, which was attacked by Congress Last summer.'

WHAT??

[ February 05, 2004, 21:32: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

[Puke]

you dont remember the terrorism futures market? some cockeyed idea that abstract chaos-theory organic entities like the stock market are better predictors of economic trends than professional economists are. therefore, setting up a futures market on the likelyhood of terrorist activity will be a better indicator than professional inteligence analyists.

riiiiight.

[dmm]

Thanks for the feedback so far. For the record, "mind-reading" interfaces are total fantasy (at least at this point). I'm looking for ideas that might reasonably be implemented in 10 years or so.

Another example: Researchers have already steered cockroaches and rats using brain implants. So, how about remote-controlled animals (dogs, pigeons, rats) equipped with cameras?

Another example: Monitoring actual cells exposed to the environment, as detectors for harmful agents.

Another example (that is already in use): cochlear implants to restore hearing