alterego is a AI intelligent headset developed by MIT media lab that picks up on neuromuscular signals that trigger when you subvocalize – that’s talking in your head in layman’s terms. the system consists of a wearable device and an associated computing system that can transcribe words that the user verbalizes internally but does not speak aloud.

 

electrodes in the device pick up neuromuscular signals in the jaw and face that are triggered by internal verbalizations — saying words ‘in your head’ — but are undetectable to the human eye. the signals are then fed to a machine-learning system that has been trained to correlate particular signals with particular words.

 

video by MIT media lab

 

 

the idea seems like pure science fiction but in fact, internal verbalizations and their physical correlations s have been a serious thought and study since the 19th centure. one of the goals of the speed-reading movement of the 1960s was to eliminate internal verbalization, or ‘subvocalization,’ as it’s known.

 

‘the motivation for this was to build an IA device — an intelligence-augmentation device,’ says arnav kapur, a graduate student at the MIT media lab, who led the development of the new system. ‘our idea was: could we have a computing platform that’s more internal, that melds human and machine in some ways and that feels like an internal extension of our own cognition?‘

kieron marchese I designboom
apr 06, 2018

  • So…remote cameras can already translate the vibration of houseplant leaves into conversations in a distant apartment. Looks like a short hop, using this tech, to reading our unexpressed thoughts next?

    Paul d'Orléans says:
    Apr 06, 2018
    Reply

  • My son had a stroke is now non-verbal – where & when can I get this???

    Laura says:
    Apr 10, 2018
    Reply

have something to add? share your thoughts in our comments section below.

comments policy
LOG IN
designboom's comment policy guidelines
generally speaking, if we publish something, it's because we're genuinely interested in the subject. we hope you'll share this interest and if you know even more about it, please share! our goal in the discussion threads is to have good conversation and we prefer constructive opinions. we and our readers have fun with entertaining ones. designboom welcomes alerts about typos, incorrect names, and the like.
the correction is at the discretion of the post editor and may not happen immediately.

what if you disagree with what we or another commenter has to say?
let's hear it! but please understand that offensive, inappropriate, or just plain annoying comments may be deleted or shortened.

- please do not make racist, sexist, anti-semitic, homophobic or otherwise offensive comments.
- please don't personally insult the writers or your fellow commenters.
- please avoid using offensive words, replacing a few letters with asterisks is not a valid workaround.
- please don't include your website or e-mail address in your comments for the purpose of self-promotion.
- please respect jury verdicts and do not discuss offensively on the competition results
(there is only one fist prize, and designboom usually asks renown professionals to help us to promote talent.
in addition to the awarded designs, we do feel that almost all deserve our attention, that is why we publish
the best 100-200 entries too.)

a link is allowed in comments as long as they add value in the form of information, images, humor, etc. (links to the front page of your personal blog or website are not okay). unwelcome links (to commercial products or services of others, offensive material etc. ) will be redacted. and, ... yes, spam gets banned. no, we do not post fake comments.

forgot password

(34 articles)

(36 articles)

(185 articles)

PRODUCT LIBRARY

a diverse digital database that acts as a valuable guide in gaining insight and information about a product directly from the manufacturer, and serves as a rich reference point in developing a project or scheme.

technology news

all technology news