Why scientists are working with the military to develop headsets that can read minds - TMC News

If all goes precisely as planned, something astonishing will occur at the Texas Medical Center in 2023. In a scenario that seems borrowed from science fiction, two patients, linked by their minds, will be able to transmit information back and forth without speaking, typing or writing.

And, as if that’s not ambitious enough, they’ll be able to do it without having undergone any surgery.

Brain-to-brain and brain-to-computer communication are part of a major research effort by the Pentagon, which views these types of links as critical to supporting the soldier of the future.

The work happening in the medical center, led by researchers at Rice University, is one of several projects occurring throughout the country to support a government-funded initiative called Next-Generation Non-Surgical Neurotechnology, or N3. The research and development wing of the U.S. Department of Defense will sink $18 million into the Rice-led project alone.

This research aims to solve a key problem facing those who seek to improve these types of communication. On one hand, technology already exists that allows researchers and clinicians to establish connections between groups of neurons in the brain and machines. But that technology typically requires surgery, and it’s considered too invasive to use on those who haven’t suffered injuries or illness—such as able-bodied soldiers. On the other hand, noninvasive neurotechnology exists, but it lacks the precision and sophistication for application in the real world. Researchers, then, are working to help the military have the best of both worlds: a high-quality connection between brains and computers—or brains and other brains—without the need for surgery.