Dreams may no longer be secret with Japan computer screen

December 11th, 2008 Japanese student demonstrates walking in a virtual world

Japanese student demonstrates walking in a virtual world, on a flat screen monitor, with the character controled by his brain waves, in Yokohama, in 2007. A Japanese research team has advanced even further by creating a technology that could eventually display on a computer screen what people have on their minds, such as dreams.

A Japanese research team has revealed it had created a technology that could eventually display on a computer screen what people have on their minds, such as dreams.



Content from AFP expires 1 month after original publication date. For more information about AFP, please visit www.afp.com .

Similar stories from PHYSorg:


Laser remote makes watching TV even lazier

created Mar 06, 2008 | popularity 3.4 / 5 (32) | comments 8

Philips Research reveals ultra-thin backlight technology for TVs

created Aug 28, 2008 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (20) | comments 1

Recognizing an unheralded pioneer in Mac-happy Silicon Valley

created Feb 27, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Control your TV simply by waving your arm

created Sep 25, 2008 | popularity 2.8 / 5 (26) | comments 10

iPoint 3D - Using fingers as a remote control

created Feb 19, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (5) | comments 0


print this article email this article download pdf blog this article bookmark this article     Digg this Stumble it share on Facebook share on Reddit add to delicious save to Yahoo! bookmarks
4/5 after 126 votes

Rank Filter

Move the slider to adjust rank threshold, so that you can hide some of the comments.


Display comments: newest first

  • schultz911 - Dec 11, 2008
    • Rank: 1.9 / 5 (8)
    Well, well....say hello to virtual wet dream movies :P LOL
  • Amanullah - Dec 11, 2008
    • Rank: 2.2 / 5 (5)
    more like great horror flicks
  • ScottyB - Dec 11, 2008
    • Rank: 2.3 / 5 (3)
    Awesome!!! it will be like the dream recorder in Red dwarf! i wonder fi they will be able to reverse teh process and put images in to some ones visual cortex creating the most realistic VR imaginable?
  • Crucialitis - Dec 11, 2008
    • Rank: 2.6 / 5 (5)
    User-generated content will explode soon enough with this discovery.
  • Stavros - Dec 11, 2008
    • Rank: 4.3 / 5 (11)
    This is a horrible development for the sanctity of marriage...just imagine all the arguing that will come when "she" reviews "his" dreams...
  • Edward3 - Dec 11, 2008
    • Rank: 3.1 / 5 (7)
    Oh shit !!!
  • EvgenijM - Dec 11, 2008
    • Rank: 4 / 5 (6)
    Awesome! Can't wait when it will read dreams and thoughts with good accuracy.
  • AlexC - Dec 11, 2008
    • Rank: 3.9 / 5 (7)
    I think we're all getting ahead of ourselves here.

    One would assume there would be a huge leap from crude images to full-color, high-def dream movies. I don't think we have to worry about our inner-most secrets being revealed any time soon.

    I remember 20 years ago, when virtual-reality was supposed to be right around the corner. It's just now approaching what the experts were touting back then.
  • ShadowRam - Dec 11, 2008
    • Rank: 4.1 / 5 (9)
    This is extremely far off still... shouldn't even be news really...
  • SmartK8 - Dec 11, 2008
    • Rank: 3.7 / 5 (3)
    Hope they'll include the sounds as well. Not another silent movie era.
  • nano999 - Dec 11, 2008
    • Rank: 1 / 5 (5)
    stupid
  • D666 - Dec 11, 2008
    • Rank: 5 / 5 (4)
    True VR isn't that far away. You need 1) a way to detect what the brain is trying to do (already exists), 2) a way to impose signals on specific neurons (already exists), and a way to stimulate the part of the brain that cuts off voluntary movement during REM (that unfortunately is a deep structure, so we're not there yet). There's no real basic science left to develop -- it's jus engineering. Since the technology would be very valuable to the two main drivers of information technology -- gaming and porn -- I expect it to be perfected by a week next monday. :-)
  • gwargh - Dec 11, 2008
    • Rank: 4.7 / 5 (3)
    @D666
    not only that, however. The most complex part of VR is not capturing or sending signals, it's finding out what the signals mean and being able to mimic them. So VR is still far off, unless someone starts linking specific pathways in the brain to specific senses (an image of a bird, most likely, should have a completely different signal form that of a plane). It's these little nuance that really make all the difference. And with current research into the field, I'd be surprised if we have 8-bit games in our heads in a decade.
  • mauinut - Dec 11, 2008
    • Rank: 3.7 / 5 (3)
    if they have the ability to "decode"
    would they not then have the ability to "encode"
    just one more way to program more idiots!~
  • OregonWind - Dec 11, 2008
    • Rank: 4.7 / 5 (3)
    Actually I would imagine that this may help psychologists or psychiatrists to treat people with sleep disorders or other sicknesses, if they learn how to interpret effectively the dreams using this technology.

    Also, it would be interesting to see how that would help the doctors to interpret the mind of a autistic person.

  • MGraser - Dec 11, 2008
    • Rank: 4.5 / 5 (4)
    The exciting part here is capturing and decoding signals to the brain. There are so many questions - does everyone send the same signals for the same visual input (or within a % of variation), or is everyone unique in their signaling? Is there a pattern/order in which information is sent (distance, size, texture, color, etc.)? Does signaling relate to how the particular brain is constructed? How to distinguish between the various signals received - this part of the signal means this, while that part means that? When we only think of items, are they signaled the same as when we see them?

    Lots of questions still, but this sounds very exciting.
  • dbren - Dec 11, 2008
    • Rank: 3.7 / 5 (3)
    So, if a kid dreams that he's at school naked, and the device records it, is he guilty of child pornography?
  • D666 - Dec 11, 2008
    • Rank: 5 / 5 (1)
    So, if a kid dreams that he's at school naked, and the device records it, is he guilty of child pornography?


    Wow. Can you say "Thought Police" ?
  • maynard - Dec 11, 2008
    • Rank: 4.5 / 5 (2)
    This reminds me of Garret Stanley's work at Harvard and Berkeley to extract video from feline brains. See here:

    http://berkeley.e...999.html
  • enantiomer2000 - Dec 11, 2008
    • Rank: 5 / 5 (1)
    you all have dirty dirty minds... I have proof!
  • JennyM - Dec 11, 2008
    • Rank: 3.5 / 5 (4)
    Oh goodie, another tool for people to abuse.

    I remember the Japanese also invented a device where the person who wore it had no control over his body, and they could remote control the person.
  • Under_Educated - Dec 11, 2008
    • Rank: 4.5 / 5 (2)
    This is what I've been thinking of since i was probably 6, because I always wanted to see my dreams again once I've woke up.
  • Ashibayai - Dec 12, 2008
    • Rank: 4 / 5 (2)
    I'm sorry if I disappoint but if I understand this article correctly we won't actually be able to see what anybody is dreaming. You see, what they are doing is capturing messages from the retina and decoding their neural positioning to construct the image directly from the brain. The problem is that when dreaming, we don't receive any retinal information.

    However, if they succeed in tracking the higher functioning concepts of WHAT (objects) we're seeing then we will be able to tell what someone is dreaming about. Unless the visuals of a dream are constructed in exactly the same way visual information is read from sight, then "seeing" a dream would be as difficult as telling somebody a word and "seeing" what it is they picture in they're mind.

    Actually seeing an approximation of what they see could be very difficult as it'd probably involve many parts of the brain, especially the parts involving visual and spatial reasoning.
  • gwargh - Dec 13, 2008
    • Rank: 4 / 5 (1)
    Not quite. They do capture retinal signals, but merely to find out which parts of the brain, and what signals, signify what image. That is, the retinal part of the study is only to determine a pathway. They then use the knowledge of these pathways to try and decode thoughts in the person, and supposedly they managed to get the same letters out and spell the same word.

    In a large sense, you are right, but what they are trying to do is find the higher functioning concepts of what the objects they are seeing are. The retina is merely to control what they are decoding (i.e. they know that the signal means "n" or "neuron" or whatever, versus blindly guessing at what it may mean.
  • poorundergrad - Dec 13, 2008
    • Rank: not rated yet
    Interesting work! If this technology advances, I would imagine that the first group of people to take advantage of this technology is not the porn or gaming industry but the intelligence (i.e. CIA). How? Accessing people's memory of course. We can trigger and record a person's memory by "flashing" the brain with a few familiar images which activates the neural pathways/patterns associate with the images, or in another term "remember". A suspect does not have to be interrogate or question. Just hook him/her up to the machine, show a few pictures of places and/or people and record whatever the suspect "remember" of the places/people and the conversation that took place. This technology can also help people with dementia. Sounds like sci-fi? Well, not for long.
  • seversky - Dec 13, 2008
    • Rank: not rated yet
    Also see this article:
    "US Army Invests in 'Thought Helmet' Technology for Voiceless Communication"
    http://www.physor...439.html
  • Adam - Dec 13, 2008
    • Rank: not rated yet
    Hey a horrible thought occurred to me... what if bosses use it to monitor how much time you're actually working while in the office!
  • rrr - Dec 13, 2008
    • Rank: not rated yet
    have you ever thought about living your dreams
    it might not be as strange as it seems
    traveling into a world you call your own
    all by yourself yet never alone
    killed ten times and you never die
    when your in dreamland you wonder why
    a collection of thoughts thru the night
    are mass confusion in morning light
    if you ever wake up without your head
    roll back over because you are dead

    http://www.youtub...IHbFQAzU&feature=channel_page

    goldieshouse.piczo.com
  • scrappy - Dec 15, 2008
    • Rank: not rated yet
    I have a question, Would the signal my brain has for the letter "n" be the same as everyone else's ???? Doesn't seem like there would be that kind of uniformity among people.
  • denijane - Dec 15, 2008
    • Rank: not rated yet
    Nice :) But they didn't mention how individual these signals are. Because if the word "neuron" has only 6 letters and 5 different ones, the brain can think for so many more different things. If you have to see like 5000 pictures in order for this device to work, that's little unpractical. Though, you can have it with you during your day and to have anything you see recorded on a camera. This could be a nice calibration. That device is so exciting!
  • Quantum_Conundrum - Dec 15, 2008
    • Rank: 3 / 5 (1)
    "We are the Borg. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Resistance is futile."


    Mind reading science = Mechanical zombies.
  • alexxx - Dec 18, 2008
    • Rank: not rated yet
    nice indeed !
  • mauinut - Dec 23, 2008
    • Rank: not rated yet
    does anyone remeber the movie "brainstorm"
    recomended viewing given the subject!

  • Ether - Apr 07, 2009
    • Rank: not rated yet
    It can't be true.., Send me the exact link of those Japanese researchers.. Only then its worth to believe.

December 11th, 2008 all stories
Technology / Hi Tech

Comments: 34
Rank: 4/5 after 126 votes

  • Stumble this up

  • Digg this

  • Share it:
  • share on Facebook
  • share on MySpace
  • share on Slashdot
  • rss-newsfeed
  • share on Google
  • share on Reddit
  • add to delicious
  • save to Yahoo! bookmarks
  • share on Windows Live
  • Add to Mixx!
Rating: 4/5 after 126 votes

  • Related Stories

  • Researchers identify parallel mechanism monkeys and humans use to recognize faces
    created Jun 25, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0
  • Autonomous robot detects shrapnel
    created Jun 18, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0
  • Potential for noninvasive brain tumor treatment
    created Jun 16, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0
  • Oxygen + MRI might help determine cancer therapy success, researchers find
    created Jun 03, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0
  • People who wear rose-colored glasses see more, study shows
    created Jun 03, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0


  • Physicists Demonstrate Quantum Memory with Matter Qubits
    Physicists Demonstrate Quantum Memory with Matter Qubits
    Physics / General Physics
    created Jul 03, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (16) | comments 1
  • 'Holey' Nanosheets for Wastewater Dye Removal
    Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
    created Jul 01, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 1
  • Jellyfish Robot Swims Like its Biological Counterpart
    Jellyfish Robot Swims Like its Biological Counterpart
    Electronics / Robotics
    created Jun 26, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (8) | comments 1
  • Could Maxwell's Demon Exist in Nanoscale Systems?
    Could Maxwell's Demon Exist in Nanoscale Systems?
    Physics / General Physics
    created Jun 24, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (18) | comments 29
  • Living Safely with Robots, Beyond Asimov's Laws
    Living Safely with Robots, Beyond Asimov's Laws
    Electronics / Robotics
    created Jun 22, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (52) | comments 40
  • Other News

    Geeks double as scourges and sages at media summit

    Technology / Business

    created 26 minutes ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

    (AP) -- The media moguls attending an annual powwow staged by investment bank Allen & Co. used to be able to rest comfortably in the Idaho mountains as they mulled their next moves.


    Japan demands 119 million dlrs in tax from Amazon: report

    Technology / Business

    created 4 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

    Japanese authorities told a sales affiliate of US retail giant Amazon.com to pay about 119 million dollars in tax for unreported income over a three-year period, a newspaper said Sunday.


    Iconic skyscrapers find new luster by going green (AP)

    Iconic skyscrapers find new luster by going green

    Technology / Energy

    created 5 hours ago | popularity 1 / 5 (1) | comments 0

    (AP) -- When owners of the Empire State Building decided to blanket its towering facade this year with thousands of insulating windows, they were only partly interested in saving energy. They also needed ...


    UK spy chief's family details posted on Facebook

    Technology / Internet

    created 5 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

    (AP) -- He's the spy who came in from the beach.


    Downturn dating: Hearts flutter as markets stutter (AP)

    Downturn dating: Hearts flutter as markets stutter

    Technology / Internet

    created 5 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

    (AP) -- Credit the recession for "staycations" and bringing us more game-night parties at home. But also give it a shout for spurring more first dates.