Given the current advances in technology, it would not be illogical to assume that a day will come when a human can operate a machine with his thoughts. Brain Computer Interfaces are coming close to transforming this dream into a reality by converting thoughts into computerized actions.
Research suggests that the many advantages offered by this technology ensure that it would be widely and rapidly adopted by various sectors. For example, the healthcare sector is rapidly adopting Brain Computer Interface technology as it enables physically disabled people to operate devices. (For more information: Whatec)
Jan Scheuermann, a quadriplegic and pioneering patient for an experimental Pentagon robotics program, continues to break ground in freeing the mind from the body . The 55-year-old mother of two in 2012 agreed to let surgeons implant electrodes on her brain to control a robotic arm. More recently, she flew an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter simulator using nothing but her thoughts. (Read more.)
International Workshop on Symbiotic Interaction Berlin, 7th and 8th of October 2015 Technische Universität Berlin, Germany
The Symbiotic Workshop presents an overview of the symbiotic relationships between humans and computers as well as novel advancements therein. There will be organized sessions and room for free discussions to shape the concepts, goals, and directions of this new field of research. The idea of symbiotic systems put forward in this workshop capitalises on the computers' ability to implicitly (even subliminally) detect the users goals and psycho-physiological states and thereby enhancing human-computer interaction (HCI) without subducting control from the human. A special focus of this year's Symbiotic Workshop will be on physiological computing approaches, e.g . using brain-computer interface (BCI) technology.
Call for Contributions include Research Papers (12 pages including references) or Posters and Demos (6 pages) that contribute to an emergent community investigating Symbiotic Interaction as a future paradigm with theories and conceptual frameworks, experimental paradigms and user studies, multi-modal data analysis and design driven research. Submission guidelines are available from www.symbiotic2015.org.
Our article "BNCI Horizon 2020: towards a roadmap for the BCI community" has been accepted for publication in Brain-Computer Interfaces (open access). In this article, we summarize the current status of the project, give an overview of the BCI field and various definitions in general, and present visions for future BCI applications developed within our project.
