CALIFORNIA: Facebook is working on wristbands that can intercept your brain’s signals and use them to help control the company’s upcoming augmented reality glasses.
The tech giant revealed its research into a wristband that uses neural technology to detect electrical signals sent from the brain to the hand, and could direct these towards commands on an augmented reality interface.
In a video, it shows off wristbands that use electromyography (EMG) to translate subtle neural signals into actions — like typing, swiping, or playing games like an archery simulator. The bands also do haptic feedback, providing a more responsive experience.
The product is being developed by Facebook’s Reality Labs division and builds upon technology from CTRL-Labs, a start-up it acquired in 2019.
Thomas Reardon, Director of neuromotor interfaces at Reality Labs, said, “What we’re trying to do with neural interfaces is to let you control the machine directly, using the output of the peripheral nervous system.”
“Serving people information via AR glasses will give Facebook a whole new medium with which to track people, and having a neural band that is able to track nerve impulses could allow Facebook to track involuntary impulses,” Walsh said.
Last year, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook was getting set to release a pair of AR glasses as soon as 2021. The company elaborated on its vision earlier this month, announcing that it’s hoping to augment the glasses with a new interface via a “soft wristband” designed to read signals from the spinal cord.
