Brain-machine interfaces — The core of the human intranet

Some of most compelling application domains of the IoT and Swarm concepts [1] relate to how humans interact with the world around it and the cyberworld beyond, as well as their fellow human beings and themselves. While the proliferation of communication and data processing devices has profoundly changed our interaction patterns, nothing has profoundly changed our means of processing inputs (sensory) and outputs (actuation). Many of these interactions are still funneled through a limited set of means (such as displays, headphones, keyboards, touch panels) integrated in a single device. The Swarm has the potential to change all of this. Consider the evolution of the smartphone. Over the past decade, it has continuously been accumulating extra functionality in terms of connectivity options and sensory capabilities. Yet, trying to integrate all of these into a single device limits both the user experience as well as the application scope. This motivates the various efforts on disaggregating the phone into an ensemble set of separate but connected components, such as watches, bangles, glasses, contact lenses, earpods, and other wearable devices. In this scenario, which we have dubbed the unPad [2], the personal communication device no longer is a single entity, but becomes a collection of devices aggregated in true Swarm fashion in an organic and opportunistic way. Some of those components may be carried on the person, while others could provided by the augmented environment around us. Given the very broad diversity of sensory and actuation interfaces offered by advanced technology, these unPads would offer an experience that is substantially richer than what our five natural senses and traditional motor functions (speech, motion) can offer. The potential is huge - think empowered humans in an enhanced world.