Duke Patents Mind-Controlled Weapons

by Sharon Weinberger
Wired Blogs
Mar. 21, 2007

Work on Brain-Machine Interface (think monkey controlling a joystick with its thoughts) is old news, but a patent granted earlier this month underscores researchers' confidence that a broader set of military applications is possible: like controlling weapons with your mind.

In "Apparatus for acquiring and transmitting neural signals and related methods," researchers at Duke University are laying claim to a device that can use the brain's thoughts to control an array of mechanical and electrical devices, up to and including weapons:

Control signals can be transmitted via a transmission link 114 to a device such as an actuator, prosthetic device, computer system, or other suitable device. Other devices include but are not limited to weapons or weapons systems, robots or robot systems, other commercial electronic devices that can be controlled remotely including TV, radio, mechanical bed systems stoves, ovens, and other cooking devices, other household devices that might be controlled by a remote device and used to improve the quality of life of a disabled person. Still other devices include scientific or commercial mechanical devices that work at a much larger or much smaller scale than is normal for a human, for instance optical tweezers for manipulating molecules and atoms, or earth moving equipment. Preferably, transmission link 114 comprises a wireless link such as ultra wide band (UWB) radio telemetry. (emphasis mine)

The work, funded in large part by the Pentagon's far-thinkers at DARPA, follows several years' funding of university researchers, including those at Duke University, which hold the current patent. DARPA has long talked about brain machine interface as a route to futuristic prosthetics. But clearly the attraction of enabling soldiers to virtually control robotic devices, drones, or weapons with no more their minds has a certain appeal as well.