 |
| © fotografixx / IStock.com Facebook on Monday said it had made a deal to buy a startup working on ways to command computers or other devices using thought. |
Facebook on Monday said it had made a deal to buy a startup working
on ways to command computers or other devices using thought instead of
taps, swipes, or keystrokes.
CTRL-labs will become part of Facebook Reality Labs with an aim at
perfecting the technology and getting it into consumer products,
according to Andrew Bosworth, vice president of augmented and virtual
reality at the California-based social network.
"We know there are more natural, intuitive ways to interact with
devices and technology," Bosworth said in a post at Facebook announcing
the acquisition.
"And we want to build them. The vision for this work is a wristband
that lets people control their devices as a natural extension of
movement."
Bosworth explained that the wristband will decode
electrical impulses such as those sent to hand muscles telling them to
move certain ways, such as clicking a computer mouse or pressing a
button.
The wristband will translate impulses into signals a
device can comprehend, having thoughts rather than mouse clicks or
button presses prompt actions on computers, according to Facebook.
"It
captures your intention so you can share a photo with a friend using an
imperceptible movement or just by, well, intending to," Bosworth said.
"Technology
like this has the potential to open up new creative possibilities and
reimagine 19th century inventions in a 21st century world."
He
spoke of how thought-commanded interactions might dramatically alter how
people experience augmented or virtual reality scenarios, which
currently feature hand-held controls.
Facebook did not disclose
financial terms of the deal to buy New York-based CTRL-labs, but
unconfirmed media reports said it paid more than $500 million.
After
Facebook bought virtual-reality gear startup Oculus in early 2014 in a
deal valued at $2 billion, social network co-founder and chief Mark
Zuckerberg heralded the technology as the next major computing platform.
Oculus
has since built a line of virtual reality gear, pushing down the price
and eliminating the need to be plugged in to a computer with its Quest
VR headset.
In Early 2017, Facebook announced projects aimed at
allowing users to use their minds to type messages or their skin to hear
words.
The projects were the focus of a team of scientists,
engineers, and system integrators with a goal of "creating a system
capable of typing 100 words-per-minute straight from your brain,"
Facebook said at the time.
Such brain-computer interface
technology currently involves implanting electrodes, but Facebook wanted
to use sensors that could be worn to eliminate the need to surgically
intrude on the brain.
Such technology could for example let people
fire off text messages or emails by thinking, instead of needing to
interrupt what they are doing to use smartphone touchscreens.
COMMENTS