This article was 1st published on our sister Site, Digital World Native.
The Company & Product: CTRL-labs, CTRL-kit
Founders: Thomas Reardon, PhD, CEO & Co-founder, Patrick Kaifosh, PhD, CSO & Co-founder, Timothy Machado, PhD, Advisor & Co-founder
The Technology: Humans controlling machines? Mind control, I know…it sounds like science fiction or… magic! The thing is that it’s no longer the stuff of a futuristic novel, it’s reality. At Slush, Helsinki, (4-5 December, 2018) Thomas Reardon, Founder & CEO of CTRL-labs, announced that the company will ship a combination kit capable of ‘intention capture’. No, it’s not a crazy-looking metal skull cap with wires protruding at all angles, or a computer-chip implanted in your brain, rather, it’s a funky-looking bracelet to be worn on the arm.
The scientists behind the technology that allows humans controlling machines demonstrated their frontier-edge device at the conference, giving assurance that all the major drawbacks seen in similar, earlier prototype products from competitors, such as Myo, have been ironed out so that developers can start working with their software & hardware with confidence.
Dubbed CTRL-kit, the technology interprets signals from the brain in such a manner that these messages can be used to control a machine without moving. Basically, thoughts are translated by the spinal cord into signals, which are captured by muscles in the body. It is these signals, which relate movement potential to the limbs, that CTRL-kit taps into to make their technology possible. This potential aptly named ‘Intention Capture’ by the company, is deemed to replace all peripheral digital hardware components, such as a keyboard, mouse, microphone or possibly even a camera – just imagine playing an Augmented Reality game on your smartphone, without lifting a finger!
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