Augmented human: Human os for improved mental function (position paper)

Abstract

This position paper summarizes some of our initial work, as well as future research opportunities, in the area of augmenting human mental functioning via a real-time analysis of various measurements reflecting person's physiological and mental states. EEG, heart rate, blood pressure, and galvanic skin response, among several other measurements, can be collected using cheap wearable devices that are currently available on the market; moreover, novel devices that are still under development, such as electronic tattoos, promise further increase of the measurement quality, ease of use, and, as a result, even wider adoption of wearable technologies in the near future. Also, more traditional measurements of human behavior, such as speech and text, collected from various mobile devices (for example, smart phones), can be combined with the data collected by wearable devices in order to produce a more accurate inference of a person's mind state and behavior. We briefly describe a working demo in the context of a case study system that uses an EEG signal from a subject driving a car. We envision detecting both situations in which the operator may be a danger to the system, as well as occasions when the system may be a danger to the operator. Based on an Android phone and a low- cost NeuroSky EEG device, we explore applications to improve road safety. We also review existing work focused on interruptions during certain activities, as well as speech and text analysis, that can be combined with physiological data to accurately classify a person's mental state and make better decisions about when interruptions (such as, for example, an incoming phone call when the driver is in the middle of changing lanes or merging on a busy highway) would be particularly dangerous.