Brain-Computer Interfacing (BCI) is a hot area of research.

In the past year alone weve looked at a system to allow people to control a robotic arm and another that enables users to control an ASIMO robot with nothing but the power of thought. Such systems rely on the use of an electroencephalograph (EEG) to capture brain waves and translate them into commands to control a machine. Now researchers at the University of Southampton have used a similar technique to show it is possible to transmit thoughts from one person to another. An experiment conducted by Dr Christopher James from the Universitys Institute of Sound and Vibration Research saw a person attached to an EEG amplifier. The person would generate a series of binary digits, imagining moving their left arm for zero and their right arm for one. The stream of binary digits was then transmitted over the Internet to a second person who was also attached to an EEG amplifier and a PC that picked up the stream of digits and flashed an LED lamp at two different frequencies, one for zero and the other for one. The pattern of the flashing LEDS was too subtle to be consciously picked up by the second person, so that at no time were they aware whether a zero or a one was transmitted. Nonetheless, the information could be recovered from their brain, using electrodes measuring the visual cortex of the recipient. The encoded information was thus extracted from the brain activity of the second user, and the PC deciphered whether a zero or a one was transmitted - thereby showing true brain-to-brain (B2B) activity. According to Dr James, here we show, for the first time, true brain to brain interfacing. We have yet to grasp the full implications of this, but there are various scenarios where B2B could be of benefit, such as helping people with severe debilitating muscle wasting diseases, or with the so-called 'locked-in' syndrome, to communicate and it also has applications for gaming."

The system, developed by a team at the University of Southampton, is said to be the first technology that would allow people to send thoughts, words and images directly to the minds of others, particularly people with a disability. It has also been hailed as the future of the internet, which would provide a new way to communicate without the need for keyboards and telephones. This could be useful for those people who are locked into their bodies, who cant speak, cant even blink, said the lead scientist Dr Christopher James. The scientists claimed the research proved it could eventually be possible to create a system where people sent messages through their thoughts alone, although they conceded it was many years away. Scientists used brain-computer interfacing, a technique that allows computers to analyse brain signals, that enabled them to send messages formed by a persons brain signals though an internet connection to another persons brain miles away. According to Dr James, during transmission two people were connected to electrodes that measure activity in specific parts of the brain. The first person generated a series of zeros and ones, where they imagined moving their left arm for zero and right arm for one. After the first persons computer recognises the binary thoughts, it sends them to the internet and then to the other persons PC. A lamp is then flashed at two different frequencies for one and zero, the Times reported. The second persons brain signals are analysed after staring at this lamp and the number sequence is picked up by a computer. Its not telepathy, Dr James told the paper. Theres no conscious thought forming in one persons head and another conscious thought appearing in another persons mind. The next experiments are to get that second person to be aware of the information that is being sent to them. For that, I need to get my thinking cap on, so to speak.

Brain-Computer Interfacing (BCI) can be used for capturing brain signals and translating them into commands that allow humans to control (just by thinking) devices such as computers, robots, rehabilitation technology and virtual reality environments. This experiment goes a step further and was conducted by Dr Christopher James from the University's Institute of Sound and Vibration Research. The aim was to expand the current limits of this technology and show that brain-to-brain (B2B) communication is possible. Dr James comments: "Whilst BCI is no longer a new thing and person to person communication via the nervous system was shown previously in work by Professor Kevin Warwick from the University of Reading, here we show, for the first time, true brain to brain interfacing. We have yet to grasp the full implications of this but there are various scenarios where B2B could be of benefit such as helping people with severe debilitating muscle wasting diseases, or with the socalled 'locked-in' syndrome, to communicate and it also has applications for gaming." His experiment had one person using BCI to transmit thoughts, translated as a series of binary digits, over the internet to another person whose computer receives the digits and transmits them to the second user's brain through flashing an LED lamp. While attached to an EEG amplifier, the first person would generate and transmit a series of binary digits, imagining moving their left arm for zero and their right arm for one. The second person was also attached to an EEG amplifier and their PC would pick up the stream of binary digits and flash an LED lamp at two different frequencies, one for zero and the other one for one. The pattern of the flashing LEDs is too subtle to be picked by the second person, but it is picked up by electrodes measuring the visual cortex of the recipient. The encoded information is then extracted from the brain activity of the second user and the PC can decipher whether a zero or a one was transmitted. This shows true brain-to-brain activity. You can watch Dr James' BCI experiment at: http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=93p7oDkA5WA&feature=email Dr James is part of the University of Southampton's Brain-Computer Interfacing Research Programme, which brings together biomedical engineering and the clinical sciences and provides a cohesive scientific basis for rehabilitation research and management. Projects are driven by clinical problems, using cutting-edge signal processing research to produce an investigative tool for advancing knowledge of neurophysiological mechanisms, as well as providing a practical therapeutic system to be used outside a specialised BCI laboratory. Dr James also appeared on BBC2's 'James May's Big Ideas' last year, talking about thought controlled wheelchairs and introducing the field of BCI. You can view the segment h