32. science&technology
Monday 24 October 2016
The Courier
Science Editors: Matthew Byrne, Natalie Farmer & Ciara Ritson-Courtney
On this day
24th October 1956 Amanda Jane Yap casts her eye over the eye revelation that has changed the sight of the world as we see it
A
lesser known biomedical researcher, by the name of William Harvey “Bill” Dobelle, can be considered a modern-day saviour in this day and age. In 1978, Dr Dobelle created history for the progression of artificial vision for the blind using electrical transmissions in the brain, gifting them with limited vision. A fervent believer in artificial technology, his impressive resume included creating the only US Food and Drug Administration approved portable breathing diaphragm pacemaker to help those with respiratory problems for the pacemaker industry, and redesigning the artificial hip while still in high school. However, his brain child would be the “Dobelle eye” invention. Dr William Dobelle was convinced that an external sensor that creates the digital image could be conveyed to the brain as usable sight.
“An external sensor that creates the digital image could be conveyed to the brain as The “Dobelle eye” system uses a tiny camera fixed in glasses worn by the blind person, the images are transmitted to a portable computer and then to 68 surgically-implanted platinum electrodes, which are attached to the brain’s visual cortex. Dr William Dobelle persevered and persisted in his belief of helping the partially and totally blind regain some measure of sight. After close to 30 years with a group of scientists under his tutelage, Dr Dobelle rose to fame in 2000 after a 62-year-old volunteer participant was able to recover limited navigational abilities. This was where the prestigious Dobelle Institute began to make its name, known to specialise in the field of artificial vision. The interesting part of the “Dobelle eye” apparatus is that it produced close to 100 specks of dotted light to form an outline of the object. These specks of light appear and disappear according to the vision change. The constellation of dots is known as phosphenes and have been likened to stars that hide behind passing clouds, from participants’ observations. Though the “Dobelle eye” invention was still in an experimental stage, it has provided tremendous hope to those who have resigned to the fact that darkness will plague them till their death. It is necessary to add that the technology would not regain their full visual sight like fully sighted people people, but it does increase their independence by more than half as they are able to navigate around more than they could. For example, allowing them to drive short distances. Needless to say, the cost for curing blindness has come at a hefty price. The entire visual prosthesis system costs $100,000 which includes a miniature camera mounted on special glasses, a frame grabber, microcomputer, stimulus generation module, and two implanted electrode arrays with percutaneous pedestals. This does not include patient psychiatric evaluation which costs up to $3,000 and hospital care expenses which can grow to $10,000. However, these astronomical figures have become normal to Dr Dobelle, he has given close to 30 years of his life to this cause and at a price tag of $25 million. For Dr William Dobelle, he has sacrifice countless things for this cause, all of which are secondary when it comes to the time spent tinkering with the “Dobelle eye”, time which cannot be replaced or bought back. Hence, it is that sense of urgency to succeed whatever the cost to make up for the blood, sweat and tears he has invested for this grand cause that continues to influence the artificial vision technology of today. For us, it’s called an invention, for them, it’s called hope.
Half-man, half machine
Errol Kerr presents and discusses the possibility of a more technologically advanced future thanks to the development of Elon Musk’s innovative neural lace
N
eural Lace is a nanotechnology-based mesh, designed to work synchronously with the brain in order to allow humans to interface with computers and augment human intelligence. No, this isn’t a science fiction novel, and no, this doesn’t have anything to do with those weird chips people shove in their heads in things like The Matrix, Star Trek and Halo. No - this is something very, very real, and Elon Musk, director and CEO of SpaceX, is developing it. Toward the end of August, Musk replied to a Tweet asking “How’s the neural lace […] going?”, indicating that there was possibly “something to announce in a few months” in regards to extending the capabilities of human beings through technological advancement. His aim, however, isn’t solely to advance mankind to unimaginable levels. Ever seen the Terminator film series? (Of course you have!) Within the film series, Musk sees a very real fear – the inevitability that humanity will develop artificial intelligence that will, one day, develop well beyond the current capacities of human intelligence. And the last thing we need is some all-powerful inorganic being overtaking all of humanity. So, whilst Elon Musk, pioneer of all things scientific, isn’t planning sending people to Mars, or cooperating with Tesla on autonomous vehicles, he’s trying to stop the inevitable rise of the machine. This possibility isn’t even that far away from a reality – individuals already have chips implanted allowing them to utilise prosthetics, and in mid-2015, a Harvard University nanotech-
nologist injected neural wire into mice successfully. It’s not going to be long until this practice can carry over onto humans. As well as advancing human intelligence, it would allow for medical professionals to monitor neural activity in individuals with physical disabilities. This could make use of possible prostheses or mobility technology just by thinking about it, and even use sections of the body that are paralysed. It could allow us to text or type without even touching our phones, allow us to utilise search engines without a second thought. If people do, indeed, think of NSFW things every couple of seconds, however,
“The inevitability that humanity will develop artificial intelligence that will, one day, develop well beyond the current capabilities of human intelligence”
this could get very entertaining very quickly. The current aim is to improve stability, however – they have a habit of losing the ability to carry signal over time, especially as the intrusive nanotech tends to damage or kill bodily cells. However, it seems that brain cells are more accepting of the inorganic components, so here’s hoping that expanded intelligence doesn’t come with a significantly shortened lifespan.
If you’re wondering where Musk’s getting his scientific influences, it’s definitely something to do with him being a huge nerd – considering he’s also played all the Deus Ex games up until Mankind Divided, so I’m a fan. Once this is all set up, you’ll find me in line at the augmentation clinic, waiting for people to shove some metal in my head. I can’t wait for symbiosis with machines. We will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.
The Courier investigates the dark side of the webcam Do you ever feel like you are being watched? Jared Moore dishes the dirt on the secret world of hacking and suggests different ways to protect your tech
A
rguably, we now live in a society where the computer is a man’s best friend. Many of our basic day to day needs are satisfied through the use of our laptops or smartphones. Whether you crave knowledge, aspire to build new relationships or just want to take the night to binge watch the entire first season of Stranger Things, your computer most likely has you covered. Socially, computers allow us to thrive in the postmodern; they work against linear preconceptions for time and space. We live in a culture devoted to shortcuts. The likes of Amazon allows you to exchange goods internationally without moving from the comfort of your couch, whilst software such as Skype and Webex eradicate the geographical distance that previously would be covered in order to see another individual. In many respects, it seems like the perfect system - but is it? In reality, for most of us our webcams are completely harmless. They’re either never used or, if they are, it’s on those rare occasions when your family are checking you haven’t done anything stupid mid-semester. But occasionally, webcams can be used to intrude upon our privacy from remote locations around the world.
“For most of us our webcams are completely harmless” It sounds like something picked out of a horror movie, the thought of someone watching you when you believe you’re completely alone. Yet, it’s more common than you’d think. Webcam hacking is a process carried out by hackers to show off their skills to the surrounding community. Most hackers use what’s called a Remote Access Trojan (or R.A.T for short) to take control of your computer’s functions. What makes the is-
sue particularly sinister is that often, the person who’s being hacked actually gives the hacker access to their computer. It’s the computer equivalent of accidentally letting a stranger walk straight into the backdoor of your home.
“Installing strong anti-malware software will help prevent unwanted guests accessing your mainframe” It works by infecting your computer with malware - software which is specifically designed to harm your computer. To infect a system with malware, it requires the user to click on an attachment or download software infected with malware. The only problem is that this could be anything, even something that seems completely innocent! There are, however, ways by which you can make your computer a safer place. Installing strong anti-malware software and turning on your firewall will help prevent unwanted guests accessing your mainframe. A bit of basic common sense also doesn’t go amiss. Remember when your parents told you not to talk to strangers or play with things that aren’t toys? Well, the same can be applied online. If you don’t know who they are or what they want, then you don’t know what they’re up to. Those pop-up messages that notify you when you’ve won a free iphone 6? Don’t click on them. If all else does fail and you find yourself paranoid that someone might be staring back at you through the tiny camera at the top of your computer, then there is one final solution to your worries. Tape a bit of paper over it. Then at worst someone’s going to hack in and see a rather fuzzy piece of A4.