Skip to main content

Mind Control: Hackers working on project that will let you control Siri with your brain

Mind-Control
Image used with permission by copyright holder

When Apple unveiled to the world the clever personal secretary we have come to know as Siri, many were excited at the possibilities this new application could bring. Apple itself touted Siri as an ingenious breakthrough and achievement — something that, once again, set Apple apart from its competitors. Of course, the reality is often less romantic than the tale, and while Siri is by no means a failure, there are still some issues surrounding the friendly and altruistic personal assistant. Voice recognition, difficulties with accents and security holes rank among the various issues users have experienced.

While it will take some time to address the different issues surrounding Siri, some hackers have devised a way to get Siri to operate by simply thinking their commands. Users will be able to, in the timeless words of Captain Jean Luc Picard, “make it so” by merely thinking out there instructions.

Recommended Videos

Achieving this feat was no easy task, but the hackers were able to accomplish their goal in seven steps. For the thought recognition to work, an ECG pad is connected to a user, which collects their brain waves and converts them into synthesized speech, which is then sent via the headphone jack and acknowledged by Siri as a command.

Here is the full seven step process:

1. ECG pads provide raw skin conductivity / electrical activity as analogue data (0-5v).

2. This is plugged into the Arduino board via 4 analogue inputs (no activity = 0v, high activity = 5v).

3. The Arduino has a program burned to its EPROM chip that filters the signals.

4. Josh trained the program by thinking of the main Siri commands (“Call”, “Set”, “Diary” etc.) one at a time and the program where we captured the signature brain patterns they produce.

5. The program can detect the signature patterns that indicate a certain word is being thought of. The program will then wait for a natural ‘release’ in brain waves and assume the chain of commands is now complete and action is required.

6. The series of commands are fed to a SpeakJet speech synthesizer chip

7. The audio output of which simply plugs into the iPhone’s microphone jack

The ambitious venture taken by the hackers, which is being called Project Black Mirror, is in the process of getting off the ground. The group at Project Black Mirror is looking to produce a working prototype and submit the design to funding platform Kickstarter. If all goes well it could certainly change the way we interact with not only our smarphones, but other devices as well.

[Source: Ubergizmo]

Amir Iliaifar
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Associate Automotive Section Editor for Digital Trends, Amir Iliaifar covers the ever increasing cross-section between tech…
iPhone 16 Plus vs. iPhone 15 Plus: Do you really need to upgrade?
The iPhone 16 Plus and iPhone 15 Plus on a gradient background.

The new wave of iPhones are here, and they've arrived in a big way. Apple's September event showcased four new iPhones: the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max. Chances are you know what to expect from each of those names, and the basic rule is that "more words in a name" means "bigger or more powerful," but it's worth keeping in mind that even the basic iPhone 16 is a mobile powerhouse that's worthy of going toe-to-toe with the most powerful Android flagships.

But who cares about Android? One of the biggest questions on every Apple aficionado's lips is always, "How is the new iPhone better than the old one?" After all, it stands to reason the newer iPhone is better -- but exactly how much better is it? If you're currently reading this on last year's iPhone 15 Plus, should you be rushing to the store to buy your iPhone 16 Plus? Here's how the Apple iPhone 16 Plus compares to the iPhone 15 Plus, and whether it's worth the upgrade.
iPhone 16 Plus vs. iPhone 15 Plus: specs

Read more
5 phones you should buy instead of the Google Pixel 9 Pro
Pixel 9 Pro in Rose Quartz.

It’s been quite an exciting year for smartphones, especially with the arrival of the Google Pixel 9 series. Google gave its flagship phone a refreshing new design, more power and performance, and fun new colors.

If you’re considering the Pixel 9 Pro this year, that’s a great choice! We love the Pixel 9 Pro. But there are also other options to consider at a similar price point or even less. Before you buy the Pixel 9 Pro, here are five other phones you may want to get instead.
Google Pixel 9

Read more
Samsung is catching up to the iPhone in an unexpected way
A person holding a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and an Apple iPhone 15 Pro.

It's a well-known fact that Apple products retain value for much longer than non-Apple products. Or is it? According to recent data from SellCell, things might be changing.

According to its report, SellCell says that iPhones still hold their value better than the competition, but they depreciate faster with every new release. At the same time, Samsung's flagship models have begun to last a little longer. In fact — and get ready for a lot of numbers — the iPhone has seen almost a 5% drop in value year-over-year since the iPhone 12 was released — and the iPhone 16 is losing value 8% faster than the iPhone 15 and has lost an average of 41.2% of its value in the first two weeks since release. That's a much greater loss than the iPhone 14 and 15 models, at 33% and 33.2%, respectively.

Read more