RT — Facebook says it is developing non-invasive technology that will allow people to transform thoughts into text through sheer mind power, sparing them the time and effort required to type words. The project has received a fairly mixed response, however.
The social media giant announced its intention to create the potentially revolutionary technology at its developer conference, F8, on Wednesday. The far-reaching plans to combine the “convenience of voice” and “the privacy of text” were presented by the head of Facebook’s Building 8 hardware research division, Regina Dugan.
What makes the project so exceptional is its focus on transferring data non-invasively, according to Dugan. While it is already possible to type words with an implant surgically implanted in your head, albeit at a significantly slower speed, this is not what Facebook is aiming for, as such technology “simply won’t scale.”
The system will be based on optical imaging technology which will track the changes in neuron activity that occurs when we speak and almost instantly convert them into words on a smartphone screen. Facebook has set the ambitious goal of developing the silent speech interface over the course of the next two years.
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