Facebook recently announced that they have acquired neural interface startup . The deal is expected to be worth around $1 billion (拢800m).
CTRL-Labs is a US-based startup, soon to be joining Facebook鈥檚 Reality Labs; the company鈥檚 augmented and virtual reality division. The plan is to bring CTRL-Lab鈥檚 mind-reading technology into consumer products, letting them reach a wider market. The deal marks Facebook鈥檚 largest acquisition since it bought virtual reality startup Oculus VR in 2014 for $2bn. Both deals illustrate Facebook鈥檚 commitment to developing hardware. It looks as though a wristband may be the first product to reach consumers. Developed by CTRL-Labs, the device will be capable of measuring neural activity, translating gestures and motions into computer controls.
Brain-reading capabilities like the ones CTRL-Labs is striving for will be particularly useful inside virtual worlds. For consumers interested in virtual reality, a technology able to capture physical movement opens up a new level of potential interaction and immersion. Facebook鈥檚 head of AR and VR Andrew Bosworth聽wrote in a blogpost聽that he hoped CTRL-Labs technology would provide people with 鈥渕ore natural, intuitive ways鈥� of interacting with devices and technology.
鈥淭he vision for this work is a wristband that lets people control their devices as a natural extension of movement,鈥� he wrote.
鈥淭echnology like this has the potential to open up new creative possibilities and reimagine 19th century inventions in a 21st century world. This is how our interactions in VR and AR can one day look. It can change the way we connect.鈥�
Bosworth continues to explain how this technology works: 鈥淵ou have neurons in your spinal cord that send electrical signals to your hand muscles telling them to move in specific ways such as to click a mouse or press a button.
鈥淭he wristband will decode those signals and translate them into a digital signal your device can understand, empowering you with control over your digital life.鈥�
