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- 2009-11-11
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本帖{zh1}由 INFPadex 于 2010-3-15 15:48 编辑
Connecting to the brain
与大脑相联
Thinking about it
想得到，就做得到
Mar 11th 2010 From The Economist print edition
Advances in brain-to-machine connections
人脑与机器互联技术（脑机交互技术）取得进展
THE possibility of operating a machine using thought control has long fascinated researchers. It would be the ultimate video-game controller, for one thing. On a more practical level, it would help disabled and paralysed people use computers, artificial limbs, motorised wheelchairs or robots. New developments in brain-to-machine interfaces show that such possibilities are getting closer.
运用（人脑的）思想控制来操作机器的可能性一直吸引着研究人员。首先，这将产生{zj2}的视频游戏控制器。从更加实际的层面看，这能帮助身患残疾和瘫痪的人们使用电脑、假肢、电动轮椅或者机器人。脑机交互技术新进取得的进展表明，上述可能距离现实正越来越近。
For many years it has been possible for people to manipulate relatively simple devices—such as a computer’s on-screen cursor—by thinking about moving them. One way is by implanting electrodes into the brain to measure the electrical activity associated with certain movements. Another uses electroencephalography (EEG), which detects the same activity using electrodes placed on the scalp. In both cases, a computer learns to associate particular brain signals with intended actions.
多年以来，人们已经可以通过意念来操作一些相对简单的设备，比如说移动电脑屏幕上的光标。一种方法是在大脑内植入电极，检测大脑中与某些特定动作相关的脑电活动。还有一种方法是脑电图描记法（EEG），通过紧贴头皮的电极来检测脑电活动。在两种方法中，电脑都能将特定的大脑信号与预期的动作关联起来。
The trouble is that non-invasive methods, which obviously have far broader appeal, are less precise than using implanted electrodes, which produce a clearer signal. Recent advances in sensors and signal processing, however, have helped close the gap, making the EEG-based approach more accurate and easier to learn how to use.
缺陷在于，非侵入的方法（第二种方法）尽管显然更有吸引力，但在xx性上不如使用植入电极的方法。植入电极可以获得更加清晰的信号。然而，传感器和信号处理技术最近取得的进展，提高了采用EEG的第二种方法的准确性和便利性，可以有效弥补这个缺陷。
Should’ve bought a Wii 早该买个Wii
In one of the latest studies, José Contreras-Vidal and his colleagues at the University of Maryland were able to obtain enough EEG data from volunteer button pushers to reconstruct the associated hand motions in three dimensions. For their study, reported in the Journal of Neuroscience, the researchers put something that looks like a swimming cap containing 34 EEG sensors on the heads of five people. The volunteers were asked to press eight buttons randomly as their brain’s electrical signals were recorded, along with their hand movements. When the volunteers were then asked to think about pressing one of the eight buttons, the resulting EEG data could be compared with the data produced during actual button-pushing, and the computer could determine which button they had in mind.
在{zx1}的一项研究中，来自马里兰大学的José Contreras-Vidal和他的同事们从志愿者身上获取了足够的EEG数据，并建立了相关的手部动作的三维模型。在他们的研究中，研究人员把一个包含３４个EEG传感器的类似游泳帽的装置戴在５个志愿者头上，要求志愿者随机按下八个按钮，并记录下他们的脑电波信号。随后，研究人员要求志愿者想象着按下其中一个按钮，并把得到的EEG数据与实际按下按钮时记录的数据进行对比，电脑就依此分辨志愿者想象的是哪个按钮。José Contreras-Vidal的研究报告发表在Journal of Neuroscience上。
The team found that sensors next to some parts of the brain produced better results than others. A sensor over the primary sensorimotor cortex, a region of the brain associated with voluntary movement, was the most accurate. Other useful signals came from the inferior parietal lobule, an area of the brain known to help guide the movement of limbs. Such knowledge means EEG headsets can be made with just a few sensors for a particular application, making them smaller and less obtrusive, says Dr Contreras-Vidal.
研究小组发现，靠近大脑某些区域的传感器获得的信号比其他传感器更好。位于主感觉运动皮层（人脑中与随意运动关联的区域）上方的传感器具有{zg}的xx性。其他有用信号来自顶下小叶（人脑中帮助引导四肢运动的区域）。Dr Contreras-Vidal指出，这些发现意味着制造EEG头罩只需少量具有特定应用目的的传感器，使得头罩更加小巧便利。
At the CeBIT trade fair in Hanover earlier this month, participants wearing EEG caps played pinball using mind control. At first the players needed to think about moving their left or right hands to operate the appropriate paddle. But eventually the process becomes subconscious, says Klaus-Robert Müller of the Berlin Institute of Technology, who is the leader of another group investigating brain-to-machine connections. It is then possible to move the flippers without thinking about moving one’s hand, he says.
在本月早些时候举行的德国汉诺威国际信息及通信技术博览会上，游戏玩家头戴EEG头罩通过意念控制参加弹珠台游戏。柏林技术学院的Klaus-Robert Müller说，起初游戏玩家们需要想着移动左右手以操作桨片，但{zh1}整个过程变成了潜意识行为，不需要再想着动手就可以移动脚蹼。Klaus-Robert Müller是另一个研究脑机交互的小组的领头人。
The researchers hope that the development of portable and non-invasive brain-machine control will be a useful advance for the paralysed or wheelchair-bound. Still, some 30% of people seem to struggle with the technology, says Dr Müller. But with new training techniques and research he thinks they will be able to cope.
研究人员希望，便携而且非植入式的脑机交互控制器的开发能帮助到瘫痪或坐轮椅的人。Dr Müller说，但是约３０％的人似乎难以接受这种技术。Dr Müller认为，通过新型训练方法和研究，人们最终将能够接受。
Perhaps they need to relax more. If so, Dr Müller has a prototype device which looks like a headband and measures a person’s state of relaxation. It also has a wireless connection. It is only a matter of time before such a device is used to create the killer application in human-computer interactions: a way of stopping people from sending e-mails while angry.
也许他们更需要放松些。如果是这样，Dr Müller推出了一种头巾形状的原型设备，可以测量人的放松状态。它同时还具有无线连接功能。这样的设备用于创造人机交互技术的杀手级应用——阻止人们在生气的时候发送电子邮件——只是一个时间问题。 |
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