Facebook has a mysterious team working on tech that sounds a lot like mind reading
Mark Zuckerberg's dream of gadgets that let humans read each other's thoughts and communicate with brain waves may be moving closer to reality.
A secretive hardware research division that Facebook created last year is developing "brain-computer interface" technology that sounds a lot like the mind reading and telepathy of science fiction movies.
Several recent job postings listed by Facebook's Building 8 group describe a hardware project involving "neuroimaging" and "electrophysiological data" to create a "communications platform of the future."
An open position for a brain-computer interface engineer seeks a Ph.D. in neuroscience who can help with a related project from "inception to product" over a two-year period. Another listing seeks an engineer who can "develop audio signal processing algorithms" for the platform.Well, at least it's non-invasive.
Facebook declined to elaborate on the job listings, but a 2015 comment from CEO Zuckerberg suggests that the company could indeed be working on some kind of brain-controlled, telepathic communication device.
"Non-invasive techniques"“One day, I believe we’ll be able to send full rich thoughts to each other directly using technology," Zuckerberg said during a June 2015 Q&A. "You’ll just be able to think of something and your friends will immediately be able to experience it too if you’d like."
Other listings seek engineers who can develop "novel non-invasive neuroimaging technologies" and create "realistic and immersive haptics experiences." Neuroimaging is an advanced field of science that uses various techniques to scan and understand what's happening in the human brain, while haptic technology simulates a sense of touch with computers....MORE
