The man with the eye-catching headgear doesn't twitch a finger - and yet he's playing pinball. He only has to think which lever he wants to move, and the balls are catapulted across the board. Diodes measure his brain activity, decode the signals sent by his brain and transform them into signals that can be understood by the pinball machine. Scientists use the term human-machine interaction to describe the results of years of research work, which looks so deceptively easy here.
Assistance systems for modern vehicles have hitherto been based on data supplied by the vehicle, on speed, direction, steering and braking manoeuvres. Scientists now want to move closer to the decisions behind these data. In future they aim to analyse the brain activity of the driver in real time.
Existing systems can already recognise that a driver is going to brake 0.2 seconds in advance. That is enough time to take precautions. Tenths of seconds can make the difference between life and death, especially for heavy goods vehicles and buses.
Key technology for many areas
"Neurotechnology goes further than assistance systems," explains Professor Klaus-Robert Müller from the Technical University of Berlin. Research is based on the complex questions as to what actually happens in our brains when we operate machinery.
Professor Müller and his colleagues believe that the answers will spawn enormous innovations. By decoding the signals sent by our brains with the help of computer science and mathematics we can move forward to other applications and high-tech products. We can, for instance, optimise machine operator workplaces and develop systems to help people with disabilities. This is why the German government has been funding research into neurotechnology for years, along with companies like Daimler and Siemens.
The supermarket of the future
The fridge of the future will note which products you need to put on your shopping list, and will register products whose use-by date is soon. RFID chips on milk and butter packaging make it possible. Before you set off for the supermarket, you simply store the information on your car key or mobile telephone.
At the supermarket, your shopping list can be transferred, by a wireless connection, to the trolley's display. Your personal shopping assistant can help you select the products you need. Because it knows your profile it is familiar with your preferences and with any allergies you might have. It will provide you with any relevant information or warnings as you go along.
Another animated shopping adviser (avatar) guides you along the aisles to the products of your choice. You simply pay with your fingerprint on the way out.
On the way home the car recognises what you have loaded (again thanks to the chips on each product) and can tell you if you've forgotten anything. If the temperature rises to levels that are potentially hazardous for refrigerated products, the on-board computer will tell you to get a move on, and get the shopping home quickly.
Science fiction? No, not really. For most of the functions laid out above, pilot schemes or similar trials are already in operation. Another question is, however, whether or not we really need it. Is all the work really worthwhile?
Harnessing potentials
Naturally not all results of scientific research will be applied one to one in real life. Neither need it be. The details and product design are the domain of other professionals. What is important is the general direction. If the direction is right, the innovative products will emerge practically alone.
It is not only a question of comfort. People are living longer, and services and products are becoming increasingly complex. The Research Ministry experts are thus convinced that innovative infrastructure like the "thinking fridge" and the digital supermarket do have a future. There is a market for them. The whole field of domestic technology offers a huge potential, which we must harness. We need only think of improved energy efficiency to appreciate this.
Innovation for independence in later life
As in previous years the stand of the Federal Research Ministry shows another trend in research promotion - projects and products designed to enable elderly people to remain independent for longer. These include household robots, learning mobility aids and a rapid online connection to medical professionals.
When we see precision distance medical supervision systems (Homecare) which are almost ready to be marketed, it becomes clear that research funding means much more than economic promotion, or underpinning Germany's future as a location for high-tech industry. It is an investment in progress that serves people.
Context: A product is born - government research funding
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