Brainput Project Takes a Load Off Humans' Minds A recent project
conducted by researchers at MIT and other institutions
demonstrated a method for computers to help people who are
weighed down by intense multitasking. Sensors measured test
subjects' brain activity as they juggled multiple tasks. When
the machine sensed the person was focusing on one task to the
exclusion of the other, it "took over" the neglected task. A
group of researchers from several universities led by MIT have
shown that robots controlled mentally by suitably equipped
humans who are multitasking can take over some of the workload
when needed. The Brainput project had researchers use a
technique called "functional near-infrared" (fNIR) imaging to
measure the activity of brains in test subjects while the
subjects were keeping track of two robots and trying to prevent
them from crashing into walls. When the robots sensed the driver
was fully occupied, their behavior became more autonomous,
meaning they made some of the navigational decision