DARPA and other research agencies are utilizing neuroscience in pursuit of better military technology. This year DARPA started a project called the Cognitive Technology Threat Warning System, also known as Luke’s Binoculars (think Luke Skywalker from Star Wars). These binoculars use EEG's to monitor brain wave signatures in the prefrontal cortex. This way the government will know as soon as a single soldier has recognized the enemy on the battlefield. Evolution has also built into our prefrontal cortex a false alarm inhibtor. It is the military's hope that EEG would allow the binoculars to bypass this phenomena, alerting soldiers to danger before their brain even has time to process it. DARPA anticipates field-testing a prototype in 2010. They are still trying to build the item effectively keeping the weight 5 pounds or less.
Weinberger, Sharon. "Pentagon to Merge Next-Gen Binoculars With Soldiers' Brains". Wired.com. 1 May, 2007. 13 Aug, 2009. http://www.wired.com/gadgets/miscellaneous/news/2007/05/binoculars
That would be pretty neat to do. It would save many of our soldiers lives. I hope it comes out soon. By Jen Hight
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