If you’re a geek like we are, you may have seen the pilot for the original Star Trek series, “The Cage,” created and written by the immortal Gene Roddenberry back in 1966. Roddenberry had an extraordinary knack for predicting how technology would unfold in the future. “Communicators” and “Tricorders,” for example, uncannily recall today’s smart phones and PDAs.

“The Cage” features Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Christopher Pike (pictured above holding the phaser), held prisoner on a strange planet inhabited by extremely advanced humanoids — the Talosians — with huge, pulsating heads (you can probably pick out the Talosian in the picture). These beings control things with their thoughts, moving stuff around telepathically using only mind waves. Once again, Roddenberry hit the nail on the head in the Predictions Department because the Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) is now a reality.

“Although the concept has been around for nearly 40 years, scientists have made significant advancements in BCI technology over the past 10 years,” writes Joseph Zeni for www.brainblogger.com. “BCI technology has recently been used to drive a robotic arm for self-feeding in a monkey. The animal was initially trained using a joystick to control the robotic arm. The joystick was eventually weaned and motor activity from the cortex was recorded via an implanted electrode. Signals from the cortex were decoded in real-time to control the movement of the robotic arm. The monkey was then able to feed himself via the robotic arm, using only his conscious thought.”

Currently, research at Brown University is generating BCI technology to help people with disabilities gain “communication, mobility, and independence, writes” Zeni. Within the BCI development community, creativity, technology, and the desire to help people live better lives are combining in exciting and thought-provoking ways.

Read the whole BrainBlogger article here.

Put on your thinking cap. What would you like to see BCI technology do in the future?