Last updated: 2020-06-16
Requirements
The requirements necessary for replacement external communication functionality involve the following high-level elements.
Mind-to-Device Conveyance
Status: Viable
Organic Model: neural signals carry the intention from the brain to the portion of the body with which the person wishes to communicate, such as in the case of vocalization, signing, or other forms of communication.
Engineered Models: there are several viable options for using body movements as an intermediary, such as a keyboard used to convey text-based messages, or the tracking of eye movements to choose words on a screen. A direct mind-to-device connection, however, would be the most efficient, and the closest analogue to the organic model, which uses bodily movement as the direct method of communication.
Available Devices
Body Movement as Intermediary
Several methods that allow for bodily movement as an intermediary to manipulate an engineered device have been used by many people for some time now, and can be very affordable; keyboards being the most prevalent of them.
Direct Mind-to-Device Connections
Direct mind-to-device mechanisms are an area of active research and development, but none are available commercially that afford reasonable levels of reliability, accuracy, and efficiency.
