Soon, Facebook tech to let our brains type

Facebook wants to read your mind.

At least, when it comes to what you’d like to say or type.

The social network giant, at its annual developers conference, unveiled on Wednesday projects aimed at allowing users to use their minds to type messages or their skin to hear words.

“Speech is essentially a compression algorithm, and a lousy one at that,” Facebook executive and former DARPA director Regina Dugan told a packed audience at the Silicon Valley event.

“That is why we love great writers and poets, because they are just a little bit better at compressing the fullness of a thought into words. What if we could type directly from our brain into a computer?”

The project grew from being an idea six months ago to being the focus of a team of more than 60 scientists, engineers, and system integrators, according to Dugan, who heads a Building 8 team devoted to coming up with innovative hardware for the social network’s mission of connecting the world.

“We are just getting started,” Dugan said. “We have a goal of creating a system capable of typing 100 words-per-minute straight from your brain.”

Video played during her presentation showed a woman with an advanced neurodegenerative disease using her mind to move a cursor on a computer screen, slowly typing words. AFP