Using thought-generated words to automatically search Web may be a reality soon: report

August 23, 2010 3:05 PM EDT

Searching the internet just by thinking may be a reality in the near future according to scientists, who are engaged in developing a computer that can read human minds, said a report in Daily Telegraph.

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In contrast to current process of searching the internet physically, the new technology being developed by a team at Intel Corporation has the ability to understand words that occur during users’ thoughts, said the report.

By creating detailed maps of the activity in the brain for separate words, the scientists plan to match them with the brain activity in surfing so that the computer can assess the words the users’ are thinking, said the report.

Based on preliminary tests, the technology has been able to find the words by examining related brain patterns and guessing the word in case of significant differences, the report said.

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“The computer uses a form of 20 questions to narrow down what the word is," said the report quoting Dean Pomerleau, Intel Laboratories.

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Suppose a food item like apple activates hunger-related parts of the brain, likewise the computer can interpret the attributes to each word that comes up in users’ thought which helps in narrowing down the search on the internet, the report said.

"We are currently mapping out the activity an average brain produces when thinking about different words. It means you’ll be able to write letters, open emails or do Google searches just by thinking,” Pomerleau added.

This article is copyrighted by International Business Times, the business news leader