AlterEgo may be used to help those with memory problems or who have lost the ability to speak | Photosource MIT Media Lab

Innovation > Health & Wellbeing > An AI-wearable that knows what you’re thinking

AN AI-WEARABLE THAT KNOWS WHAT YOU’RE THINKINGHEALTH & WELLBEING

AlterEgo can detect what you say when talking to yourself, even whenyou’re not moving your mouth

Spotted: A device called AlterEgo could change the way people communicate, without having tohear a spoken word. Created by a 24-year-old PhD candidate from MIT, this wearable device candetect what you say, even when you are talking to yourself and not moving your mouth. It may beused to help those with memory problems or people who have lost the ability to speak.   

AlterEgo works by detecting the neuromuscular signals sent by the brain to the vocal cords. Thedevice reads these signals and AI turns them into words. The speaker can hear the AI-generatedresponses through a tiny microphone that conducts sound through the bones of the skull and ear.Responses can also be read out loud through artificial voice technology.  

The device’s creator, Arnav Kapur, is in the process of testing it on patients in hospitals andrehabilitation centres who have lost their ability to speak. Kapur has applied for a patent and hasplans to develop AlterEgo into a commercial device.

Springwise has spotted other AI-driven innovations that integrate with brain activity to help thosewith disabilit ies, including a device that aims to give people with quadriplegia control over deviceswith their thoughts.

12th August 2019Email: alterego@media.mit.eduWebsite: media.mit.edu/alterego

Takeaway:

This technology could have a major impact on those who have lost the ability to speak due to astroke, injury, or neurodegenerative disease. This is because their brains still send speechsignals to the vocal cords, as well as the many muscles that are involved in speaking.