A pair of new experiments helped people with paralysis communicate audibly in close to real time.
I do not want to downplay how absolutely astounding this is, but it is more limited and error-prone than the article would have you believe at first.
The technology converted Johnson’s speech attempts into words at nearly 80 words per minute. Chang said the natural rate of speech is around 150 to 200. It had a median accuracy of around 75% when Johnson used a 1,024-word vocabulary.
I am very happy for her regardless. This will improve her life immensely.
The one thing I don’t understand is that it appears that she has the ability to move, which makes me wonder why they went with something this drastic rather than use a system similar to what Stephen Hawking had.
The one thing I don’t understand is that it appears that she has the ability to move, which makes me wonder why they went with something this drastic rather than use a system similar to what Stephen Hawking had.
Technology marches on.
What Hawking had was state of the art and bleeding edge at the time. And so is this. It’s a step towards something better than what we have now, just like Stephen Hawkings computer setup was something better than being bedridden for the rest of his life.With a stroke, it’s not just physical disability that impedes communication, but the brain damage as well. While coherent thoughts may be present, there are one or more interruptions along the way to words being expressed via any means - spoken, written, blown through a straw - that this technology seems to be attempting to replace.
I guess it’s all in the name of Science? Or maybe that’s what she wanted.
Plus:
“The system appears to be significantly faster and more accurate than previous technologies that attempted similar feats, and it allowed Johnson to communicate using a relatively expansive vocabulary.”
Faster, sure, but could it really be more accurate than what Hawking had?
No because he wrote each word by twitching his cheek when the cursor was over the one he wanted.
Such a system could be implemented with the brain stuff but it’d be just as slow.
Natural rate is three words a second? Sustained?
Easily. Seconds are longer than you think!
In that one picture she looks so happy and proud. All the best to her!
