Sunday Times 2
Friend or foe?
A mind reading helmet could allow military bosses to tell if new captured enemies are friend or foe, it has been claimed.
The helmet is packed with sensors that monitor the wearer’s brain activity through EEG scans.
The Friend or Foe Algorithm takes millions of these brain data points, and recognizes patterns that can distinguish ‘Friend’ from ‘Foe’ in near real-time.
The helmet is packed with sensors that monitor the wearer’s brain activity through EEG scans and can tell if they recognise pictures of bomb making equipment or insurgent leaders (AFP)
It works by flashing images of crime scenes or bomb specs in front of the wearer, then looking for tiny changes in the brain that have been found to correspond with recognition.
Veritas Scientific’s proprietary Friend or Foe Algorithm then takes millions of data points collected in these tests, processes and weights them accordingly, and generates a scored – showing the operator a Green Light (Friend) or Red Light (Foe).
When you recognize a picture that is of emotional significance to you, your brain experiences a 200 to 500 microsecond blip.
The reaction, referred to as the P300 response, happens too fast for the test subject to control, so the subject can’t game the system. ‘If I flash you a picture of a diagram that shows you how to build an IED, that would be a pretty strong indicator that you might be a foe…You wouldn’t be studying how to make an IED if you were a friend,’ Veritas CEO Eric Elbot told Defence One.
Earlier this week, Rear Adm. John Kirby told reporters that ‘it would be imprudent, irresponsible not to think about the insider threat.’ The threat is real in Afghanistan as well where insider threats, so-called “green-on-blue” attacks, have killed several U.S. troops in recent years.
Veritas says it will provide the U.S. military with the device first, as a way to help them pick friend from foe among captured people. Elbot envisions a scenario in which troops in a village in Afghanistan round up all the men and put helmets on them, and then the soldiers will able to classify them as friend or foe almost instantly.
However, they admit it could also be used in law enforcement, criminal trials, and corporate takeovers – and could even become a smartphone app giving anyone a mind-reading device in their pocket.
‘Veritas Scientific’s HandShake captures brain signals in response to stimuli through multiple Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) and Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent (BOLD) readings, bookended by a Friend Making Interview (FMI) and a Foe Problem Interrogation (FPI),’ the firm says.
‘HandShake can uncover loyalties, guilty knowledge, and deception, in order to vet intelligence sources, and can out think Insider Attacks in Afghanistan.
© Daily Mail, London