MrSeb writes "A group of American researchers from MIT, Indiana
University, and Tufts University, led by Erin Treacy Solovey,
have developed Brainput — a system that can detect when your
brain is trying to multitask, and offload some of that workload
to a computer. Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy
(fNIRS), which is basically a portable, poor man's version of
fMRI, Brainput measures the activity of your brain. This data is
analyzed, and if Brainput detects that you're multitasking, the
software kicks in and helps you out. In the case of the Brainput
research paper (PDF), Solovey and her team set up a maze with
two remotely controlled robots. The operator, equipped with
fNIRS headgear, has to navigate both robots through the maze
simultaneously, constantly switching back and forth between
them. When Brainput detects that the driver is multitasking, it
tells the robots to use their own sensors to help with
navigation. Overall, with Brainput turned on, operator
performance improved — and yet they didn'