Cyborg soldiers could be part of the U.S. military soon as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is working on creating an implantable chip that can connect a human brain to a computer to facilitate data delivery.Cyborg soldiers could be part of the U.S. military soon as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is working on creating an implantable chip that can connect a human brain to a computer to facilitate data delivery.
In the case of the U.S. military, this could mean faster information acquisition on enemy position and swifter relay of instructions on the field.
DARPA formed the Neural Engineering System Design (NESD) program to come up with a neural interface, a system that connects biological nervous systems with digital devices, creating "unprecedented signal resolution and data-transfer bandwidth" between the two.
NESD program manager Phillip Alvelda pointed out that the best of today's brain-computer interface systems are similar to two supercomputers trying to communicate with each other through an old 300-baud modem. Currently, approved neural interfaces have just 100 channels, each responsible for compiling signals from thousands of neurons at the same time, resulting in not just imprecision but noise as well.
"Imagine what will become possible when we upgrade our tools to really open the channel between the human brain and modern electronics," he said.
Think of the neural interface DARPA is developing as a translator that could turn electrochemical language from the brain into digital signals that a device can understand, and vice versa. The NESD is looking at developing a system capable of communication so efficient that it can handle signals from up to a million neurons within any part of the brain.
Given what it is trying to accomplish, the NESD program will require the expertise of scientists from different fields, such as medical device packaging, low-power electronics, synthetic biology, photonics and neuroscience. To translate biological signals into digital ones, scientists will have to use advanced neuro-computation and mathematical techniques.
The U.S. military is hopeful that industry leaders will partner with DARPA to further research for the NESD program through manufacturing and prototyping services, as well as intellectual property.
DARPA will be hosting a meeting from Feb. 2 to 3 in Arlington, Virginia to gather potential participants in the NESD program. Over the course of four years, the agency anticipates that its investment in the NESD program will reach up to $60 million.
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