What did you say?
AFP Science, via Yahoo!:
NASA has developed a computer program that comes close to reading thoughts not yet spoken, by analyzing nerve commands to the throat.
It says the breakthrough holds promise for astronauts and the handicapped.
"A person using the subvocal system thinks of phrases and talks to himself so quietly it cannot be heard, but the tongue and vocal cords do receive speech signals from the brain," said developer Chuck Jorgensen, of NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California.
Jorgensen's team found that sensors under the chin and one each side of the Adam's apple pick up the brain's commands to the speech organs, allowing the subauditory, or "silent speech" to be captured.
The team concluded that the method could be useful on space missions or other difficult working conditions, such as air traffic control towers and even to make current voice-recognition software more active.
Posted by jackhodgson at March 17, 2004 10:23 PM