Want to type? Just think about it

Imagine staring at the image of a keyboard on a computer screen and watching characters appear on the monitor as you think about each one. A wearable headgear is translating brain waves into the corresponding text.

Wei Siwen, a graduate student at Tianjin University, set a record for brain-controlled typing at a recent national robotics competition in Beijing's Daxing district. She typed 69 Chinese characters per minute using her mind to type on the computer screen — much faster than the normal typing speed on a mobile phone.

Through a special algorithm created by the University of Macau and Hong Kong University, Wei could type 691.55 bits per minute, a rate of transmission equivalent to typing an average English word in 0.413 seconds with 100 percent accuracy, according to a report in Science and Technology Daily.

Wan Feng, a professor in the science and technology college at the University of Macau, said that a typical person using the algorithm can type more than 20 characters per minute with brain waves.

"The aim of brain-controlled typing technology is to eventually achieve a symbiosis with artificial intelligence," he said. "It may lead to telepathic communication."

Wan also envisions that future astronauts will be able to operate equipment in a spacecraft both manually and through brainwaves. Gamers will use brain waves to control their video games without touching a computer.

The brain interface devices still need many improvements, but the progress so far is still inspiring, Wan said, adding that improved devices like these have the potential to usher transformative technology from the lab into the real world.

Liu Jianing contributed to this story.