Brain-Computer Interfaces in US Military and Nokia's Vibrating Tattoo

Current state-of-the-art neuroscience, including new forms of brain scanning, brain–computer interfaces (BCIs), and neuromodulation, is being tapped for warfighter enhancement, deception detection, and other cutting-edge military applications to serve national security interests. 

- Tennison MN, Moreno JD (2012) Neuroscience, Ethics, and National Security: The State of the Art. PLoS Biol 10(3): e1001289. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001289

The super-power status of The United States is currently being held in place by its large economy and unmatched military strength. However, the economic gap with the rest of the world continues to shrink and the list of enemies continues to grow. Therefore, they've chosen to out-think instead of outspend or outnumber the competition.

Luke 14:31-32(NKJV) - Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace.

Here's an excerpt from an article I read earlier this week called "Military-Funded Brain Science Sparks Controversy" by Charles Choi of Live Science.

Brain research and associated advances such as brain-machine interfaces that are funded by the U.S. military and intelligence communities raise profound ethical concerns, caution researchers who cite the potentially lethal applications of such work and other consequences.

Rapid advances in neuroscience made over the last decade have many dual-use applications of both military and civilian interest. Researchers who receive military funding — with the U.S. Department of Defense spending more than $350 million on neuroscience in 2011 — may not fully realize how dangerous their work might be, say scientists in an essay published online today (March 20) in the open-access journal PLoS Biology.

For instance, a brain-computer interface was used by a monkey to remotely control a walking robot in 2007. However, such interfaces could help people operate weapons, robotic exoskeletons, killer drones and other machines while sheltered from the reality of combat and its deadly consequences, said bioethicist Jonathan Moreno at the University of Pennsylvania, author of "Mind Wars: Brain Research and National Defense" (Dana Press, 2006).

"The question about brain-machine interfaces is whether we are continuing to lower the bar for conflict," Moreno told InnovationNewsDaily. "Certainly there are people in the armed forces and in policy who find the distancing of war fighters from combat disconcerting."

Other research can enhance or suppress brain activity of soldiers on the battlefield with so-called neuromodulation technologies. For instance, so-called transcranial magnetic stimulation or transcranial pulsed ultrasound could, in principle, apply magnetic fields or ultrasound pulses on the brain to reduce fatigue and mental trauma as well as improve mood, attention, learning and memory.

If you want to know what's really going on, read the research essay published three days ago called "Neuroscience, Ethics, and National Security: The State of the Art" by Tennison MN and Moreno JD. It will blow your mind.

Here's a sample;

DARPA's Augmented Cognition (AugCog) program sought to find ways to use neurological information gathered from warfighters to modify their equipment accordingly. For example, the “cognitive cockpit” concept involved recording a pilot's brain activity to customize the cockpit to that individual's needs in real time, from selecting the least burdened sensory organ for communicating information to prioritizing informational needs and eliminating distractions [7]. Although the Augmented Cognition moniker (and funding mechanism) seem to have been dropped, its spirit lives on in other DARPA projects. For example, the Cognitive Technology Threat Warning System is developing portable binoculars that convert subconscious, neurological responses to danger into consciously available information [8]. Such a system could reduce the information-processing burden on warfighters, helping them to identify and respond to areas of interest in the visual field more quickly.

- Tennison MN, Moreno JD (2012) Neuroscience, Ethics, and National Security: The State of the Art. PLoS Biol 10(3): e1001289. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001289

Now let's take this to another level with Part 2 of today's blog. Take a look at the following scripture and think about it a little.

Revelation 13:15-17(NLT) - He was then permitted to give life to this statue so that it could speak. Then the statue of the beast commanded that anyone refusing to worship it must die. He required everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name.

Doesn't it sound quite futuristic? First, it talks about Synthetic Life then it talks about a special mark which we are yet to fully understand. Apparently, not only will it be symbolic but it will be used to communicate personal information. In fact, it may possibly involve some type of mind control since each person who takes the mark will lose autonomy over his/her soul (mind, will, emotions). Maybe it's just me but what I recently discovered proves that the technology is already available.

Yesterday, CNN Money published an article by Chris Boyette called "Nokia eyes tattoos that talk to your phone." Here's some of what he had to say;

Nobody likes a loud ringtone, and if you don't have your phone close by, you might not feel it vibrate. Finnish-based Nokia has a potential solution, with just one catch: You need to get a tattoo.

In a recent filing to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Nokia (NOK) described a concept for using magnetic ink embedded in the skin to interact with a specific electromagnetic field put off by mobile phones. The interaction would generate a perceivable stimulus when the ink registers "an alert of an incoming message, a phone call, an alarm." In other words, your tattoo will vibrate with your phone.

Check this out from Vlad Bobleanta who provided more details at Unwired View;

In the first described embodiment of the patent, you’d wear a sort of material that’s attachable to the skin. On your forearm, for example. This material can do two things: detect a magnetic field, and emit a vibration.

The material could be paired with a phone, for example, like Bluetooth accessories are paired to electronics. The phone, however, would have to be capable of emitting varying magnetic fields.

So then, for example, when someone calls that phone, it will send out a specific magnetic field. The material will detect that, and will start vibrating in a certain pattern. That pattern could be different according to who’s calling, or it could be different according to what exactly is happening on the phone (a phone call, text message, and so on).

For this to work, the phone would have to send out a different magnetic field for each action, because the material would associate a different type of vibration with each kind of magnetic field it detects. The vibrations would happen by magnetically manipulating the material.

But wait, there’s more. What about using an actual tattoo instead of that material attached to your skin? Yes, Nokia has thought about that too.

The tattoo would be applied using ferromagnetic inks. The ink material would first be exposed to high temperatures to demagnetize it. Then the tattoo would be applied. You’ll apparently be able to choose the actual image you want as the tattoo. The procedure is identical to that of getting a ‘normal’ tattoo – only the ink is special.

After the tattoo has been applied, you’ll need to magnetize it. That means bringing the tattooed area in the close proximity of an external magnet, and going “several times over this magnet to magnetize the image material again”. The tattoo will then have enhanced sensitivity towards external alternating magnet fields, and will basically function the same way the aforementioned material attached to your skin did. Only in a more permanent fashion, so to speak.

- "Nokia is looking into haptic tattoos to help you feel who’s calling" by Vlad Bobleanta on 15 Mar 12

Now if you think we're making this up go to the US Patent Office website for yourself and look it up here. If you can't find it enter the search terms; "nokia AND haptic and feedback and ferromagnetic." This is some interesting stuff. I just have one word to to say about all of it; "WOW!"

Revelation 22:20(KJV) - He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.