Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) can help people do things like control robotic arms, drive vehicles, control computers, and communicate. But how do they work? Four steps broadly apply to the operation of BCIs: measure, interpret, encode, and deploy (MIND). These steps allow machines to record brain data, decipher the user’s intended action, translate that information into something a computer can use, and do something with the processed data. While BCIs are new and exciting, there are ethical considerations to using these technologies for our collective futures.

This is a video from the 2023 Brain Awareness Video Contest.

Created by Harrison Canning.