In this post I want to show you how far away we are from a virtual realities like The Matrix or Sword Art Online.
Could you imagine to connect a game in which instead joysticks , you could interact with the game using your own senses? That is exactly what happen in the movie : The Matrix
or in my beloved anime: Sword Art Online
That would be awesome, but are they possible? Some company are trying to create it?
Brain to Computer interface
From the ancients days of computers, an interface to connect the user with computer was required. It is also called peripherals in computer terms.
There was a kind of devices able to receive the human commands or signals and send them to the computer to perform some expected operation or behavior.
But since that days, we are almost in the same way: a lot of novel and modern devices to send information to the computer:
And this is the same for games
What happen with the opposite? From computer to the brain?
Computer to brain interface
If you google this, there is no information about it. All is related to the previous explained interface: Brain -> computer which is the opposite of what I want or what a real full dive virtual environment needs :(
An explanation could be that only two senses are the target of major companies: eyes, ears.
The headset sends information from the computer to the human. It could be music, realtime meeting, etc
The google glass and monitors (desktop/laptop) are in charge to send information from the computer to the human
Faking the human senses
The previous explained technology or devices are not enough to offer what sci fiction proposes: Send information direct to the brain as if they came from the senses.
Summarizing to the maximum, the information from real world is translated to electric pulses thanks to the senses. That electric pulses are sent to the brain using the nervous system.
The following image show how a simple odor is transformed to electrical signal and sent to the brain
So as a programmer, I cannot stop to think that if I understand how a rose odor is translated to a specific electric signal, I could send it directly to the nervous system. Like the mocks used in unit testing in software development.
Neuralink
This is real awesome but are in the category of brain to computer because thank to an implant directly in the brain, you could send information to the modern devices like smartphones, iot, etc
The Neuralink implant and its potential for neuro amplification and treatment modalities give rise to hopeful advancements in improving the lives of people with spinal cord injuries, neuro degenerative disorders, and neuro biological shortfalls. Source: https://assets.cureus.com/uploads/review_article/pdf/55684/20210429-2931-rj0qoo.pdf
Openbci
https://openbci.com is able to get the brain signs and send to the computer for specialized process. Imagine this: If you think in the letter “A”, this generate some electrical pulse in your brain. Openbci is able to detect that and send it to the computer. What would you do if you have the electrical pulses or signals of all letters?
Sadly this is a brain to computer interface, again !!! Not the opposite : Brain to computer interface
IBM & Sword Art Online
IBM Japan has announced Sword Art Online: The Beginning, a virtual reality project that aims to realize the world of the popular Sword Art Online light novel series. Check this https://vrscout.com/news/walkthrough-ibm-sword-art-online-vr-demo/
Rather than use a controller, the game will be played by moving your body. Reki Kawahara, creator of the Sword Art Online series, calls it “completely different from any game experience so far.”
The project uses a a next-generation computing system called the “Cognitive System” that supports human decision-making, as well as “SoftLayer,” IBM’s high performance cloud system that produces the ambiance of a real world.
Check these videos
- https://youtu.be/JAam8nWfrPA
- https://youtu.be/Z2X582BweQk
But sadly not is a real full dive, only a combination or oculus rift + hand joystick + body sensors + platform to walk without advancing
My researches
Years ago I was obsessed whit the goal to understand why no ones try to create a brain to computer interface. Me, a single mortal trying to figure out why major enterprises of technology with its engineers team, can do this. Dream is free, why not!
At this moment I lost the links and papers but I will research again. In the following paragraphs I will share the most important what I remember. I will update it if I receive some claps with comments.
Send information to blind people
A research team was able to send a kind of blurred colors to a patient. This could be the starting point. Could you imagine if someone is able to send a single pixel directly to the brain and the human could see something like this:
If that is possible, as a developer I could send letters, numbers, and draw anything.
Also I could send a 3d information from games like https://secondlife.com not with an oculus rift. Directly to the brain:
Mapping human sense decodification
Imagine a framework in which all researches can upload how senses translate the real environment information to a electrical pulses? We could have a database to convert a virtual world to a electrical pulses which that could be understood by the brain
Lecture and image References
- https://aminoapps.com/c/anime/page/blog/kirito-quotes/JJtd_uVoLZJJDn6qx6Polvr6JYBdR8
- https://www.businessinsider.com/the-matrix-do-we-live-in-a-simulation-2019-4
- https://www.quora.com/How-will-you-explain-The-Matrix-trilogy-in-simple-terms
- https://twitter.com/renansintese13/status/1286430108694327297?lang=ar-x-fm
- https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/31/technology/william-english-who-helped-build-the-computer-mouse-dies-at-91.html
- https://www.artstation.com/artwork/xzoRn1
- https://www.tomsguide.com/best-picks/best-pc-game-controllers
- https://www.highgroundgaming.com/best-flight-sticks/
- https://www.als.org/blog/bringing-brain-computer-interfaces-home
- https://m.alibaba.com/product/1600254876862/1600254876862.html
- https://www.google.com/glass/start/
- https://isqch.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/8160ad1108b8ba82ab80260f3e7b5161.jpg
- https://neuralink.com/
- https://assets.cureus.com/uploads/review_article/pdf/55684/20210429-2931-rj0qoo.pdf
- https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2018-05-18/ibm-sword-art-online-virtual-reality-mmo-wins-at-2nd-animonozukuri-awards/.131691
- https://www.theverge.com/2016/3/1/11137738/sword-art-online-vr-mmo-ibm
- https://vrscout.com/news/walkthrough-ibm-sword-art-online-vr-demo/
Conclusion
We are far far away from a real environment worlds like The Matrix or Sword Art Online because nobody is trying at least publicly.
I will save all the money I can, so that in my old age when I have financial freedom I can contribute to this dream. I will not see the result but at least in some book my name will be
Until the next,
JRichardsz
