\u201cWarfighters need new ways to interface and interoperate with machines,<\/em>\u201d says\u00a0Al Emondi, manager of DARPA\u2019s newest neurotech program. \u201cBut most of the technologies developed up to this point require surgery. What got us here won\u2019t take us there.\u201d<\/p>\n It hasn\u2019t escaped DARPA\u2019s attention that no-surgery-required brain gear that gives people superpowers may find applications beyond the military. The proof-of-concept tech that comes out of the N3 program may lead to consumer products, says\u00a0Justin Sanchez, director of DARPA\u2019s\u00a0Biological Technologies Office. \u201c This will spawn new industries,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n The program has two tracks: One for researchers developing completely non-invasive tech and the other those working on \u201cminutely invasive<\/em>\u201d technologies. Both those categories require a little explanation.<\/p>\n Completely non-invasive: It may seem surprising that DARPA would focus on\u00a0this area of research, because plenty of non-invasive neurotechnologies already exist. For example, electrodes are simply placed on the scalp in both electroencephalogy (EEG), a technique that\u2019s been used to read brain signals for many decades, and in transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a method of jolting the brain that\u2019s currently being tried as a\u00a0cure for depression, an\u00a0enhancement of athletic ability, and\u00a0just about everything else.<\/p>\n But Sanchez says these existing technologies will never provide precise enough transmission for the applications DARPA envisions. The N3 program aims for new non-invasive tech that can match the high performance currently achieved only with implanted electrodes that are nestled in the brain tissue and therefore have a direct interface with neurons\u2014either recording the electrical signals when the neurons \u201cfire\u201d into action or stimulating them to cause that firing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Until now, the neuroscience programs at DARPA, the mad science wing of the Department of Defense, have focused on technologies for warfighters who have returned home with disabilities of the body or brain. For example, programs have funded research on\u00a0prosthetic limbs\u00a0that are wired into the nervous system and\u00a0brain implants\u00a0that could treat post-traumatic stress disorder. But […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":3549,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"amp_status":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[208,241,10],"tags":[306],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/athis-consulting.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/5400a798521bcf1bb18f1b5af0853aae_original-300x169.jpg\")
The\u00a0Next-Generation Nonsurgical Neurotechnology\u00a0(N3) program will fund research on tech that can transmit high-fidelity signals between the brain and some external machine without requiring that the user be cut open for rewiring or implantation. The program was\u00a0announced in March, and Emondi is currently picking researchers who will be funded under the program. He tells\u00a0IEEE Spectrum<\/em>\u00a0to expect an announcement in early 2019.<\/p>\n