Facebook wants to create a bracelet for interacting with augmented reality with the power of thought

Smartphones and virtual reality headsets are controlled using touch screens and separate controllers. There are no obvious control mechanisms for smart glasses. That is why Facebook is developing a design for a wrist-based device that can read thoughts and allow you to manipulate augmented reality objects that are digital overlays in the real environment.

A demonstration of such a device’s capabilities, which the Facebook Reality Labs division is developing, the company shared in a new video, which was presented at a virtual closed conference for the press.

The video shows a wrist-worn device capable of reading neural signals from the brain that enter the user’s hands when trying to do something with them. For example, take some object, type some text on the keyboard, flip through the feed of news, messages, etc. In theory, these signals can be translated into a set of commands that will reproduce the actions the user needs in a virtual or augmented reality environment.

“In fact, far more brain neurons are allocated to control your wrists than to control any other part of your body. About twice as many neurons are dedicated to controlling wrists and hand movements than lip movements or verbal communication, ”explains Thomas Reardon, head of research at Facebook Reality Labs.

The video demonstrates how users will manipulate virtual objects using these neural signals in the future. Besides, the company showed the possibility of using special bracelets to turn any surface into a keyboard.

In fact, there is no keyboard, even in the form of a digital augmented reality object. However, the bracelet will read a person’s thoughts and his intention to print a particular letter in a word and translate them into a signal that a computer can understand.

According to Mike Schroepfer, head of technology at Facebook, we won’t see such devices shortly, as they are in the early development stages.

“It’s hard to predict when this will happen. How these things will appear on the market and when they will appear are also questions that cannot be answered now. We are currently focused on the research phase of these technologies, ”said Schroepfer.