U.S. Army funds university research on mind reading

Ever want to read somebody’s mind or have someone else read yours without speaking? Well, so does the Army.

The U.S. Army Research Office recently awarded a $4 million research grant to UCI scientists to study the art of mind reading.

Synthetic telepathy, as it is called, uses a complicated combination of neuroscience and signal processing to study the idea.

Scientists use a brain to computer interface with noninvasive brain-imaging technology to let people communicate thoughts.

If developed, the communication system could benefit soldiers in the battlefield, as well as paralysis and stroke patients, according to Michael D’Zmura, the lead researcher and chair of the UCI department of cognitive sciences.

The U.S. Department of Defense’s Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative program sponsors the grant, which supports research involving more than one science and engineering discipline.

— Daniel Tedford