IEEE Spectrum June, 2014 - 70

personal assistant," says Justine Cassell, a
computer-science professor and codirector
of the project. The software sidekick she has
in mind "will constantly be learning about
you and becoming more personalized." It
will know-without your input-what cuisines
you like, who your friends are, and that you
might enjoy that new shop across the street.
Your phone already collects a good deal
of intelligence on you-through your GPS
trail, browsing history, texts, calendars,
e-mails, and online social networks. But
wearables will be able to gather much
more. Sensors exist or are in the works
that can observe your breath, sweat, gaze,
facial expressions, heart rate, muscle
movements, and sleep patterns, as well
MinD-rEADing MAChinE: A volunteer tests a brain-computer interface being developed at the
U.S. Army Research Laboratory. The system can identify when a user spots a potential threat, such as
as the ambient temperature and air quala person with a gun, simply by observing brain activity.
ity. And now scientists are starting to develop wearable technologies that can
eavesdrop on the brain.
"You want a light switch?" Xiao asks,
t h E ga dgEts w E'l l w E a r won't
Known as brain-computer interfaces, or
and one appears next to Harrison's ofjust be handier than those we now have to
BCIs, these systems are found mostly in refice door. "We actually had this controlcarry. Wearables will be truly revolutionling the lights." Xiao envisions a future in
search laboratories. They tend to be bulky
ary, some experts say, because they'll learn
which disc jockeys queue tracks on their
and uncomfortable, and the information
things about us that we never tell them or
forearms and architects revise blueprints
that we might not think
they can extract from the
on the walls of their clients' homes. "In
to find out for ourselves.
brain is still crude. The
20 years, maybe people will go to Home
The seeds of such a
most common approach
Depot and instead of buying lightbulbs,
future are already here.
is called electroencephathey'll be buying information bulbs."
Google's digital personal
lography, or EEG. A typIn fact, future consumers may choose
assistant, Now, has the
ical setup consists of a
from many different kinds of interfaces,
smarts to figure out the
headband or cap lined
mixing and matching to satisfy their style
locations of your home
with anywhere from a
and fancy. Other researchers are now inand workplace just by
few to a few hundred
tIme cAPsule: 1964
tracking your moveelectrodes, which meavestigating smart glasses that track eye
movements, wristbands that capture
ments during the day.
sure voltage fluctuations
Because it knows this
hand gestures, tongue implants that
produced by electrically
recognize whispers, even neck tattoos
information, it can, for
active brain cells, or neuthat pick up subvocalizations-the subtle
instance, display on its
rons. By the time these
vibrations your throat muscles make when
own initiative traffic
signals reach the scalp,
two Dartmouth professors,
you imagine how a word sounds.
updates on your phone
however, they are weak,
John Kemeny and thomas
At the Georgia Institute of Technology, in
5 minutes before you bejumbled, and incomplete,
Kurtz, and a team of
Atlanta, Clint Zeagler is designing interfaces
making it difficult to pick
gin your commute.
undergraduate students
developed the BASiC
for smart clothing, such as embroidered patout subtle events, such
In February, Yahoo
computer language in 1964.
as thoughts or emotions,
announced a five-year
terns sewn with conductive thread, that usDuring the mid-1970s,
from the noise made by
US $10 million parters can navigate by touch rather than sight.
Bill gates and paul Allen
catapulted BASiC's popularity
other brain processes,
"Why can't my zipper be a scroll?" he asks.
nership with Carnegie
when they wrote a version
facial movements, and
"Why can't my button for my pants be a butMellon to create the "next
of the language for the MitS
nearby electronics.
next next- generation
ton? Why can't it turn on my pants?"
Altair 8800.
70

jun 2014

north american

SPectrum.ieee.orG

photo-iLLUStrAtion By

Gluekit

ron Carty/u.s. arMy researCh laboratory

BASIC
Computer
LAnguAge

http://SPectrum.ieee.orG

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Spectrum June, 2014