Take a look at this man with glasses.
When asked how you are feeling today, you reply in chat: "Very good."
It looks natural, but it's actually difficult for this man.
Because he had a stroke 15 years ago that left him speechless and unable to lift his hand.
So how did you answer it?
The answer lies here, in the brain.
Researchers in the United States put a device on the man's head that detects brain signals.
It is a brain computer interface (BCI) technology that means connecting the brain and the computer, and it succeeded in reading the thoughts in the head.
How did he read the brain's thoughts?
There are about 100 billion nerve cells called neurons in our brain, and neurons transmit signals using electricity.
It is a measure of the electricity generated when neurons are active.
The state of the brain is determined by measuring which parts of the brain are conducting electricity, how often and at what strength.
When you pronounce a word, your brain sends out electrical signals to move your vocal cords, and you interpret these signals to guess what word you were thinking of.
Applications are diverse.
A research team at Stamford University in the US has developed a technology to draw letters and numbers with thoughts in the head, and this is also how you type on the keyboard.
It's an alphabet written by a patient using this technology, and it's just like handwriting.
Shall we take a look at this monkey?
I'm very good at the game.
But if you look closely, the remote controller wire is missing.
A chip was placed in the monkey's head to make the game proceed as the monkey thought.
A company called Neural Link, founded by Elon Musk, has developed a technology that puts a chip capable of measuring brain electricity and transmitting real-time wireless data in the head. Because it is a surgical procedure that attaches the implant, there is a risk of infection at the transplant site.
In fact, there are foreign media reports that the majority of monkeys used in the experiment died.
So, we are developing a technology that connects to a computer by wearing only a hat on the head without implanting such a chip.
This exoskeleton robot helps people who cannot move their legs to walk.
Up until now, you've been controlling yourself with a button-mounted remote controller, but this guy is a little different.
When I think of getting up, I think of the robot standing up and walking, so the robot moves forward without any additional control.
What the hell is the principle?
Let's hear directly from the researchers.
[Rae-Hyun Kim / Senior Researcher, KIST Bionics Research Center: Similar brain waves are generated even if you imagine without actually moving.
Using this principle, the robot can be controlled by figuring out what motion this person imagined.]
You can also eat rice.
It is being developed for patients with reduced mobility, and if you look at the arrow on the plate, the food indicated by the arrow is fed.
I did it myself in the lab.
I was surprised that it worked more accurately than I expected.
Shall we take a look?
Let's grab anchovies.
A sensor attached to the visual area at the back of my head interprets which arrow was seen.
Overseas research teams are applying these technologies to robot arms, robot legs, and electric wheelchairs.
Of course, there are still higher walls to overcome.
Some people are skeptical that the brain's activity is so complex that it will not be fully interpreted and will remain at a rudimentary level.
Individual differences are so great that some people may not be able to measure and analyze brain electrical signals well, and as technology advances, technology that sends signals to the brain is being studied. It can make it immersive, but when abused, it can also lead to the ethical problem of brain manipulation.
(Video coverage: Kim Kyun-jong, Kim Seung-tae, video editing: Kim Jun-hee, CG: Kang Kyung-rim, Source: UCSF Neuralink EPFL UMPC Stanford University)