Neural Interfacing report

Seminar Report on

Neural Interfacing Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science & Technology

Guide: Mr. Amrit NathThulal Assistant Professor ASET

Submitted By: Bhawna Garg 04010402710 CSE 4th Year Batch :2010–14

Amity School of Engineering and Technology [Affiliated to Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Dwarka]

Certificate This is to certify that Ms. Bhawna Garg [04010402710], student of B.Tech. (Computer Science & Technology), has successfully completed her report entitled “Neural Interfacing” comprehends

the authentic work of her individual.

This report fulfills their Bachelor of Technology course requirement at 7th semester at the Amity School of Engineering and Technology, an institution affiliated to Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Dwarka.

Date:

Mr. Amrit Nath Thulal

Place: New Delhi

Asst. Professor, IT Dept. ASET

Acknowledgement First and foremost, our acknowledgements are due to Professor Rekha Agarwal, Director for the education under their guidance that has provided strong fundamentals, positive competition and unmatched learning experience. I express our gratitude to our esteemed Professor M.N. Gupta, (Head, Department of CSE & IT) and our co-ordinator Mr. Amrit Nath Thulal. Their inspiration, motivation, suggestion and invaluable guidance enabled us to develop the present software. Their careful observations and precise ideas were an immense help in refining our content. I also thank Mr. Ashok Yadav for their unmatched expertise, constant guidance, feedback, support and patience during the development of the application. I also offer our sincere compliments to our friends for their suggestion and co-operation. Last but not the least; we owe our thanks to our revered parents for their moral support and constant encouragement that has made it possible for me to attain this stage of academic achievement in my life.

Bhawna Garg [04010402710]

Abstract Neural Interfacing is a powerful means which can develop a robust bridge between humans and machines. We emphasize on neural interfacing as an evolving trend in wireless communications by taking into account one of its important application i.e cyborgs. Attachments and interfaces mediate our interaction with the environment and usually are positioned on the surface of the body. Physical objects would be called tools or attachments, while information utilities would be called interfaces. In the same way a neural interface allows human brain communicate directly with a computer, without any other equipment. That kind of interface allows any illusions to be inputted to human nervous system. Neural interfacing fantasies have mainly grown out of science fiction. A cyborg is Part human and part machine, a hybrid of neurons and wires or circuits. It is a human being artificially transformed into a machine by providing a proper interface between man and computer. And Cyborg means “Cyber Organism”.

Table of Contents Certificate …………………………………………..………..…………………...…………i Acknowledgement ……………………………………...……………………………….….ii Abstract ………………………………………………..………………….…………….….iii Table of Contents ………………………………………..……………….………………...iv 1. Introduction ……….…………………………………..…..…………………………….1 2. Overview of Neural Interfacing 2.1 What is Neural Interfacing…………………………………….……..………….2 2.2 What is Cyborg ……………………...…………………….……….…………....3 2.3 Cybernetics…………………………………………………………....…………4 3. Origin of Cyborg…………………………...……………………………………………5 3. Features of Cyborg………………….………………………………………………..…7 4. Robots & Cyborgs………………………………………………………………..……..9 5. Hybrots………………………………………………………………………..………..10 6. Archetype………………………………………………………………………..……..11 7. Cyber Drugs…………….………...………………………………………...……….…12 8. Experiments Proposed by Cyborg Steve Mann……………………..……….....….…13 9. Human Implanted With Cyber Chip……..………..………………………...…..……14 10. Implantation Procedure.…………………………….…………………………......….15 11. Advantages……….………………………………….………………..…..……………16 11.1 Cyber Soldier………….………..………………………………...….……….17 12. Disadvantages………..……………………………….……………………….……....18 13. Conclusion………………………………..……………………………………………20 14. References…………………………………………...………………………………...21

INTRODUCTION Attachments and interfaces mediate our interaction with the environment and usually are positioned on the surface of the body. Physical objects would be called tools or attachments, while information utilities would be called interfaces. In the same way a neural interface allows human brain communicate directly with a computer, without any other equipment. That kind of interface allows any illusions to be inputted to human nervous system. Neural interfacing fantasies have mainly grown out of science fiction. An article on neural interfacing in the IEEE Transactions reports that "a Microelectrode array capable of recording from and stimulating peripheral nerves at prolonged intervals after surgical implantation has been demonstrated." These tiny silicon-based arrays were implanted into the perineal nerves of rats and remained operative for up to 13 months. The ingeniously designed chip is placed in the pathway of the surgically severed nerve. The regenerating nerve grows through a matrix of holes in the chip, while the regenerating tissue surrounding it anchors the device in place. This chip receives the signals from the surrounding nerves and sends it to a computer through a wireless medium. Within several decades, active versions of these chips could provide a direct neural interface with prosthetic limbs, and by extension, a direct human-computer interface. This human computer interface may now lead to a revolutionary organism called as “cyborg”, which was thought of as a science –fiction earlier.

OVERVIEW OF NEURAL INTERFACING WHAT IS NEURAL INTERFACING? The Society for Neural interfacing (SNI) actively promotes research on innovative approaches dedicated to Neural Interfacing (NIF). Evaluating current technology and its intrinsic limitations it is possible to outline an almost perfect Neural Interfacing technology, however, predictions are largely based on current visions and one's imagination. Thus, the content of this site is expected to be up dated on a regular basis. NIF techniques with the potential of significantly improving current electrophysiological approaches should exhibit the following features: 

Non-invasive communication with the neural tissue.

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No harming side effects.

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Spatial resolution in the range of 85micro- or nanometers in order to specifically target individual neuritis.

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Temporal resolution at the millisecond level in order to capture neural processes.

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Real-time data acquisition and processing

An interesting concept that may ultimately unify the requirements listed is the communication with neural tissue by means of electromagnetic fields. An ideal NIF technology would enable the real-time visualization of thoughts. A related concept was employed in the movie "Minority Report" (see below).

Scene from the movie "Minority Report": Thoughts and thus neural activity is directly visualized by means of optic scanning of the brain. Depicted are three muses whose thoughts are directly visualized on a screen.

WHAT IS A CYBORG? A cyborg is Part human and part machine, a hybrid of neurons and wires or circuits. It is a human being artificially transformed into a machine by providing a proper interface between man and computer. The term cyborg is often applied to an organism that has enhanced abilities due to technology, though this perhaps oversimplifies the necessity of feedback for regulating the subsystem. The more strict definition of Cyborg is almost always considered as increasing or enhancing normal capabilities. While cyborgs are commonly thought of as mammals, they might also conceivably be any kind of organism and the term "Cybernetic organism" has been applied to networks, such as road systems, corporations and governments, which have been classed as such. The term can also apply to micro-organisms which are modified to perform at higher levels than their unmodified counterparts. It is hypothesized that cyborg technology will form a part of the future human evolution.

CYBERNETICS Cybernetics is word coined by group of scientists led by Norbert Wiener and made popular by Wiener‟s book of 1948, Cybernetics or Communication in the animal and the Machine. Based on the Greek “Kybernetics”, meaning steersman or governor, cybernetics is the science or study of the control or regulation mechanism in human and machine systems, including computers. CYBERNETICS could be thought of as recently developed science, although to some extent it cuts across existing science. If we think of Physics, Chemistry, Biology, etc. as a traditional science, then Cybernetics is a classification, which cuts across them all. Cybernetics is formally defined as the science of control and communication in animals, men and machines. It extracts, from whatever context, that which is concerned with information processing and control. One major characteristics of cybernetics is its preoccupation with the construction of models and here it overlaps operational research. Cybernetics models are usually distinguished by being hierarchical, adaptive and making permanent use of feedback loops. Cybernetics in some ways is like the science of organization, with special emphasis on the dynamic nature of the system being organized.

ORIGIN OF CYBORG The concept of a man-machine mixture was widespread in science fiction before World War II. As early as 1843, Edgar Allan Poe described a man with extensive prostheses in the short story "The Man That Was Used Up". In 1908, Jean de la Hire introduced Nyctalope (perhaps the first true superhero was also the first literary cyborg) in the novel L'Homme Qui Peut Vivre Dans L'eau (The Man Who Can Live in the Water). Edmond Hamilton presented space explorers with a mixture of organic and machine parts in his novel The Comet Doom in 1928. He later featured the talking, living brain of an old scientist, Simon Wright, floating around in a transparent case, in all the adventures of his famous hero, Captain Future. He uses the term explicitly in the 1962 short story, "After a Judgment Day," to describe the "mechanical analogs" called "Charlies," explaining that "[c]yborgs, they had been called from the first one in the 1960s...cybernetic organisms." In the short story "No Woman Born" in 1944, C. L. Moore wrote of Deirdre, a dancer, whose body was burned completely and whose brain was placed in a faceless but beautiful and supple mechanical body. The term was coined by Manfred E. Clynes and Nathan S. Kline in 1960 to refer to their conception of an enhanced human being who could survive in extraterrestrial environments: “For the exogenously extended organizational complex functioning as an integrated homeostatic system unconsciously, we propose the term 'Cyborg'. - Manfred E. Clynes and Nathan S. Kline” Their concept was the outcome of thinking about the need for an intimate relationship between human and machine as the new frontier of space exploration was beginning to take place. A designer of physiological instrumentation and electronic data-processing systems, Clynes was the chief research scientist in the Dynamic Simulation Laboratory at Rockland State Hospital in New York.

The term first appears in print five months earlier when The New York Times reported on the Psychophysiological Aspects of Space Flight Symposium where Clynes and Kline first presented their paper. “A cyborg is essentially a man-machine system in which the control mechanisms of the human portion are modified externally by drugs or regulatory devices so that the being can live in an environment different from the normal one.” A book titled Cyborg: Digital Destiny and Human Possibility in the Age of the Wearable computer was published by Doubleday in 2001. Some of the ideas in the book were incorporated into the 35mm motion picture film Cyberman.

FEATURES OF CYBORG A silicon chip is implanted into any part of the body especially the region where most of the nerves are interconnected, and send and receive the electronic impulses. This silicon chip is designed in such a way that it can receive the nerve signals, amplify them and encode the signal into digital format by which proper computer accessibility is provided. Since no wires are preferred to interconnect the cyborg and computer a wireless communication path is preferred. This implant is encased in a glass tube. One contains the power supply, a copper coil energized by respect to the signals from the “Cyborg”. Radio waves to produce an electric current. In the other end, three mini printed circuit boards will transmit and receive signals. The implant is connected to the body through a band that wraps around the nerve fibers and is linked by a very thin wire to the glass capsule. The chips in the implant will receive signals from the nerve fibers and send them to a computer instantaneously. For example, when a finger is moved, an electronic signal travels from the brain to activate the muscles and tendons that operate the hand. These Nerve impulses will still reach the finger. The signal from the implant will be analog, so it is to be converted into digital in order to store it in the computer. There is a desire to understand and to make meaning of the developing history of cyborgs, the development of their behavior and culture; the two interconnected through hands, wires and electronic mechanisms that bend the technological discourse towards cultural as well as digital ears.

Fig. shows a man’s response towards the cyber chip.

ROBOTS & CYBORGS All of them, to some degree, are programmed; they're basically computers that move. A robot, however, doesn't necessarily have to resemble a human. It can be in the shape of a dog, or a lunar Lander, or one of those giant arms in a car factory. But cyborgs are beings that are part mechanical and part organic. In fact, some theorists consider anyone whose body relies on a form of machinery in order to survive - such as a pacemaker or an insulin pump - to be a cyborg. CYBORGS

Convenient Cyborgs

Conditional Cyborgs

Cyborgs are categorized into two types based on their structural and functional role play. Structurally cyborgation can take place either internally or externally. The former Convenient cyborgs may refer to any external provision of an exoskeleton for the satisfying the altered fancy needs of body, and the latter Conditional cyborgation includes bionic implants replanting the lost or damaged body part for the normal living in the present environment. There are also different types of cyborgs differentiated as per their body working.

HYBROTS A Hybrots (short for "hybrid robot") is a cybernetic organism in the form of a robot controlled by a computer consisting of both electronic and biological elements. The biological elements are rat neurons connected to a computer chip . This feat was first accomplished by Dr. Steve Potter, a professor of biomedical engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. What separates a hybrot from a cyborg is that the latter term is commonly used to refer to a cybernetically enhanced human or animal; while a hybrot is an entirely new type of creature constructed from organic and artificial materials. It is perhaps helpful to think of the hybrot as "semi-living," a term also used by the hybrot's inventors. Another interesting feature of the hybrot is its longevity. Neurons separated from a living brain usually die after a short period of time; however, due to a specially designed incubator utilizing a new sealed-dish culture system, a hybrot may live as long as two years.

ARCHETYPE The cyborg archetype is a character in a near future world where societal decay has led to the adoption of metal parts. These cyborgs are commonly armed with paramilitary in-built weaponry or are otherwise survival and combat oriented. Some possible scenarios might be: 

The low-life down on Wattson block discover that the Gamma Corp has plans to “renovate” the slum developments by arranging for one of the obsolete orbital refineries to fall out of orbit on it. The characters are a mix of cyborgs and extremely competent humans who are hired/ motivated to protect their homes.

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A new virus has been trashing mainframes across the net. There seems to be no defense and very little evidence of how it spreads or how it‟s getting into the system. The characters are freelance “contractor-cowboys” who have their brains wired for cybernetic net access. They are brought in to track (in cyberspace) a mysterious individual who seems to be somehow connected to virus.

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The characters are a group of vat-grown “clones” that have been cybernetically augmented for mining on Saturn‟s moons. Now, they‟ve escaped to earth and, nearing the end of their artificially shortened life cycle they must convince their creator/engineer to give them longevity and elude the human assassin/cop who‟s chasing them.

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Keeping up with the latest modifications takes a lot of money. Fortunately you can use the just-barely-obsolete-stuff to make money. Especially the weapon pods. Especially in the city.

CYBER DRUGS Tiny Silicon chips implanted in the body could soon imitate the effects of heroin or cocaine. The technology opens up the nightmare prospect of drug barons controlling victims with message sent by internet to home computers. The message would activate the chip and deliver sensations to the brain identical to those created by drugs and just as addictive.

Fig. shows a person addicted to cyber drug

EXPERIMENTS PROPOSED BY CYBORG STEVE MANN “This project is based on the experiment conducted by cyborg Steve Mann”. The silicon chip implant is inserted into the upper inside of the left arm, beneath the Inner layer of skin and on top of the muscle. And the device is connected to the Nerve fibers in the left arm, positioned electronic impulses that control dexterity, feeling, even e motions. This nerve center carries more information than any other art of the anatomy, aside from the spine and the head and so is large and quite strong This chip is made of receive the signals from the nerve fibers and the signals are then transmitted to the computer. The computer is programmed to receive the signals, store them in a database and execute the tasks such as opening the doors switching on and off of lights and giving vocal messages to the cyborg depending on his loco motions and actions.

Fig. Human-computer interface: the implanted chip in shoulder and the response of the computer

HUMAN IMPLANTED WITH CYBER CHIP As discussed earlier the chip in the implant will receive signals from the nerve fibers and send them to a computer instantaneously. For example, when we move a finger, an electronic signal travels from the brain to activate the muscles and tendons that operate the hand. These nerve impulses will reach the finger. The implanted silicon chip receives these nerve pulses and it sends the signal of impulses to a computer through wireless path. The signal from the implant will be analog, so we'll have to convert it to digital in order to store it in the computer. The computer receives the signal and sends it back to the implant. This ensures

whether the same response of moving the finger will be by sending same impulse signal to the implant. The fig. shows a blind man wearing a camera interfaced to nerve cells in brain to view images on Television artificially. This camera captures images and sends them to the silicon chip implant where the images are sent to the brain and processing takes place with this the image is seen by the blind person even without his eyes.

IMPLANTATION PROCEDURE

ADVANTAGES By using this technology not only blind people can be assisted but it may also be possible to capture signals responsible for happiness, pain, anesthesia etc .Experiments are also being conducted to establish wireless communication between two persons by placing similar chips, that are capable of using the energy in the body and can transmit and receive impulse signals between them. If this experiment is proved to be possible then “cyborg” which was assumed to be a science fiction is no more a distant dream. With this technique there would be no use of any speech to communicate, Just the impulses in the human body can be used convey the information between each other. Thought communication will place telephones firmly in the history books. Another important application of cyborg would be in curing diseases. If this type of experiment works, we can foresee researchers learning to send antidepressant stimulation or even contraception or vaccines in a similar manner. With this we can gain a potential to alter the whole face of medicine, to abandon the concept of feeding people chemical treatments and cures and instead achieve the desired results electronically. Cyber drugs and cyber narcotics could very well cure cancer, relieve clinical depression.

Fig.: A baby under gone a cyborg implantation.

CYBER SOLDIER Certainly, the military has already considered the possibility of the super-soldier, augmented by technology so that he has faster reflexes, deadlier accuracy, greater resistance to fatigue, integrated weaponry, and most importantly, lesser inclinations toward fear or doubt in combat. Such soldiers could be created through combinations of biochemical, bioelectronics, and DNA manipulation, which is already a great success. They might have available arsenals of new biological warfare components, synthetically generated within their own bodies.

Fig. A cyber soldier

DISADVANTAGES The critics of bioelectronics and bio computing foresee numerous potential negative social consequences from the technology.  One is that the human race will divide along the lines of biological haves and havenots. People with enough money will be able to augment their personal attributes as they see fit, while the majority of humanity will continue to suffer from plague, hunger. It's inevitable that there will be those who see the potential of a sort of master race from this technology.  Certainly, the military has already considered the possibility of the super-soldier, augmented by technology so that he has faster reflexes, deadlier accuracy, greater resistance to fatigue, integrated weaponry, and most importantly, lesser inclinations toward fear or doubt in combat.  Such soldiers could be created through combinations of biochemical, bioelectronics, and DNA manipulation, which is already a great success. They might have available arsenals of new biological warfare components, synthetically generated within their own bodies. But it's not clear that these 'cyborgs' would not turn on their creators. Indeed, there's no reason at all to think they would forever allow themselves to be controlled by inferiors.  They could easily become a new sort of dominant caste, forcing the rest of untechnologized humanity into serfdom. Or perhaps they might decide simply to eliminate it.  For that reason, it's logical to suspect that one of the other dangers inherent in bioelectronics might be the ability to control and monitor people.  Certainly, it would be easy to utilize bio-implants that would allow people to trace the location and perhaps even monitor the condition and behavior.

This would be a tremendous violation of human privacy, but the creators of human biotech might see it as necessary to keep their subjects under control. Once implanted with bio-implant electronic devices, „cyborgs‟ might become highly dependent on the creators of these devices for their repair, recharge, and maintenance, thus placing them under the absolute control of the designers of the technology. Perhaps the most cogent arguments against this technology originate from people who foresee tremendous possible risks toward human health and safety. In this way cyborgs may lead many adverse consequences as predicted by the critics.

CONCLUSION Though bioelectronics has many advantages it may lead to negative arguments with the invention of biological machines called “Cyborg”. As many scientists have eloquently argued, once a technology is out there, you cannot make it go away. There never was a technology that the human race ever abandoned wholesale, even the hydrogen bomb or other weapons of mass destruction with the power to wipe out all life on Earth. When human beings are offered the chance to utilize computers and electronic technologies within their bodies to achieve the same results, it is almost certain they will embrace them regardless of the risks. Based on this, it would be unrealistic to try and ban such technologies; however one might worry about their ethical and social consequences. A ban would only probably force them into a large, criminal black market, as illegal drugs and weapons already have been. It is probably imperative for society to assert that the scientists and engineers charged with creating this new technology exert the proper amount of social responsibility. Safeguards will have to be insisted on to prevent the possible negative impacts discussed above, and many of these things will have to be built in at the instrumental level, since they probably cannot be achieved only through policy and regulation.

REFERENCES 1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyborg 2. http://www.bostonretinalimplant.org/implant.php 3. D. S. Halacy, Cyborg: Evolution of the Superman 4. http://www.lucifer.com/~sasha/articles/techuman.html 5. Manfred E. Clynes, and Nathan S. Kline, (1960) "Cyborgs and space," Astronautics, September, pp. 26–27 and 74–75; reprinted in Gray, Mentor, and Figueroa-Sarriera, eds., The Cyborg Handbook, New York: Routledge, 1995, pp. 29–34. (hardback: ISBN 0-41590848-5; paperback: ISBN 0-415-90849-3). 6. http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?arnumber=6409466 7. www.scribd.com