This Headpiece Changes Color Through Thoughts

Brain interface technology has long since been considered the ultimate user interface experience, giving us the power to control computers and mechanical systems with thought alone. While we still have a ways to go before we see a truly noninvasive, long-lasting brain interface device, we are seeing some brilliant advancements in technology that are bringing the idea to life. 

For the first time, researchers are utilizing technology that can detect the brain's electrical activity, and learning how to measure and direct brain activity to increase functionality. In the September issue of Wired magazine, we were introduced to a gem-studded hat that can change colors to illuminate different areas of brain activity. 

The ornate headpiece was designed by artist and "alchemist" Lauren Bowker of the London-based studio The Unseen, who worked in collaboration with the Austrian luxury crystal and jewelry company Swarovski. It contains a surface lined with thousands of lab-grown gemstones that have been engineered to respond to minute heat changes in the skull. The heat changes are of course stimulated by the wearer's brain activity.

Bowker explained to Wired that they used a magnesium-aluminum synthetic stone, which has a similar composition to human bone, and altered it to be even more receptive to temperature changes. Each stone is painted with a chemical coating that will change color when the surface temperature changes by one degree.

Although the piece is purely a spectacle--a work of art, really--Bowker believes the technology could have other applications. Bowker says she has been in contact with companies who are interested in its use on coma patients, in an effort to measure which areas of the brain are responding with activity, with its largest benefit being its noninvasive nature.

The headpiece's story provides a great example of how to think outside the box when it comes to developing devices that interact with the human brain.

While this is merely a small slice of the pie in terms of efforts toward legitimate brain interface technology, significant progress is being made, as the focus intensifies in the realm of bionic interface technology. From prosthetics that can connect to the brain to produce a sense of touch, to full on control of the prosthetic through bionic interface technology, the idea of controlling the devices around us with the human brain has never been closer.

There has even been significant progress in the field of wearable computer technology, with devices similar to Google Glass, as researchers seek to provide a wearable device that can be controlled by the human brain. A pair of professors from Canterbury University are using cognitive psychology techniques in an effort to model a user's brain and a wearable computer device to operate as a single system. While the research is still in its infancy stages, the group hopes that the project can push the envelope of brain interface technology to unforeseen heights.

Although a lot of progress has been made, the reality is that we are still quite a few years away from being able to interact with the world around us with a simple thought. For now, the future seems very bright, as advancements in technology continue to bring us closer to a world run by the very brains that run the human body. 

Kristopher Sturgis is a contributor to Qmed and MPMN.

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