New Delhi: Delhi-born Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) student Arnav Kapoor has developed the “AlterEgo” device, a “mind reading” headset with AI capabilities. Users can communicate with machines, AI assistants and other people by speaking words internally to the device, a prototype of which debuted in 2018.
When bone conduction is used to send and receive a flow of information, the communication is purely internal and personal. In essence, this means that after wearing the gadget, one can order a pizza or a tube ride without speaking to anyone.
According to MIT, AlterEgo is a non-invasive, wearable peripheral neural interface that allows people to interact with machines, artificial intelligence assistants, services and other people without using their voice, opening their mouth or making any other movements that can be seen by others. Enables communication in natural language. Instead, they may do this by vocalizing internally.
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Bone conduction is used to provide auditory feedback to the user, keeping the interface closed loop and preserving their regular listening experience. It enables a person to interact with the computer in a way that they feel is completely internal to themselves, almost like talking to themselves.
The main objective of this initiative is to help people with speech impairments communicate, especially those suffering from diseases like Multiple Sclerosis and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.
On social media, a video of Mr Kapoor using the gadget has gone viral. Mr. Kapoor answered the interviewer’s questions in the video almost immediately and without speaking. “You have the whole internet in your head,” the interviewer then says.
According to MIT, Mr Kapoor has a passion for mathematics, physics and the arts. When looking for solutions to the world’s problems, he feels that “it is important to consider everything as a complement, not as a separate discipline.” He is currently researching media arts and sciences as part of his PhD at the MIT Media Lab.
