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Pentagon Project Aims to Create Telepathic Troops

DARPA boffins tasked with turning brain waves into silent words

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted May 15, 2009 8:40 AM CDT

(Newser) – The Pentagon has launched a project officials hope will help soldiers of the future read each other's minds on the battlefield, Wired reports. DARPA—dubbed the military's "mad scientist" division—has been given $4 million to develop technology that can detect and analyze brain waves that precede specific speech. Scientists hope that soldiers will one day be able to read those brain signals via devices such as mind-reading binoculars.

The goal, a researcher for the Silent Talk project said, is to "allow user-to-user communication on the battlefield without the use of vocalized speech through analysis of neural signals."

Military chiefs believe telepathic communication would greatly improve the efficiency of special forces operations.
Military chiefs believe telepathic communication would greatly improve the efficiency of special forces operations.   (AP Photo/Azamat Imanaliev)
The military has funded several mind-control projects in recent years, and issued a report last year saying neuroscience could help make the enemy obey its commands.
The military has funded several mind-control projects in recent years, and issued a report last year saying neuroscience could help make the enemy obey its commands.   (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
The US military is funding a project that aims to enable soldiers to communicate telepathically.
The US military is funding a project that aims to enable soldiers to communicate telepathically.   (Getty Images)
Brain
Brain   (©dierk schaefer)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 5 comments
Rob
May 16, 2009 5:48 AM CDT
WTF
Mad
May 15, 2009 8:17 AM CDT
"F.T.N." - "F.T.N." - "F.T.N." - "F.T.N." - "F.T.N." - "F.T.N."
riffran
May 15, 2009 3:22 AM CDT
ahhh the begining of the "universal translator" of Star Trek fame.......I prefer the babel fish.....don't forget your towel

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