In the early days of Gold Systems, I joked that someday CTI would stand for "Computer Telepathy Integration" and we would just think about what we want to do on the computer and it would happen. That was almost 21 years ago, and over the last five years I've been seeing signs that this will actually happen in my lifetime. Or rather is happening.
The latest example was reported in the May 16, 2012 article by Benedict Carey in the New York Times Science section. (You can try this link if you are registered on the site) The article talks about the first published demonstration about how people with brain injuries have been able to control a prosthetic arm. In other words, they can no longer control their own arms, but they are able to control a robotic arm, just by thinking about it. This has been reported in Nature, and can be found here.
This technology is in the lab today, and requires "a tiny sensor about the size of a baby aspirin" to be injected just below the skull. I've got to think a wireless sensor will come along at some point, and I hope that it will find its way into the real world quickly.
This photo says it all, which the New York Times credited to braingate2.org. Be sure and check out the BrainGate website for more information about the technology and photos of the amazing team who is making this dream a reality.
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