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A warning line in the movie "Inception" now seems to have become a reality.
MIT Dream Lab researchers have developed Dormio and BioEssence, wearable devices that can enter dreams. Through these devices, people can enter and interact with sleepers' dreams, and even change the dreams.
Among them, Dormio mainly relies on sound media, while BioEssence is implemented through smell. The software parts of these devices are currently open source on the GitHub platform.
Glove-style device Dormio
MIT Dream Lab researcher Adam Horowitz has developed Dormio, a glove-style device.
Through this device, researchers can interact with sleepers while they are in the semi-dreaming stage of sleep. Researchers believe that the critical interval between wakefulness and sleep is the most creative period, and they can improve the creative performance of experimenters by changing their dreams.
If the subject is able to enter the sleep stage and remain awake without entering the next stage of sleep, then the dreams during this period are highly associative; that is to say It is difficult to distinguish between dreams and reality at this stage.
Adam Horowitz experimented with Dormio on 50 people. It was found that the content of the audio prompts could successfully appear in the subjects' dreams. For example, if the audio word was tiger, the subject would dream about a tiger. It is said that Edison would hold a steel ball in his hand while sleeping. When his consciousness gradually entered the sleep state, his body muscles would relax, and the steel ball in his hand would fall and make a sound, causing Edison to return to his waking state. As a result, Edison's sleep lasted for a long time. In a state of half-asleep and half-awake, which is the extremely creative sleep zone mentioned above.
In this way, Edison’s sleep is actually opening up creativity, and my sleep is sleep; maybe this is the gap between me and genius.
Note: The picture shows the first-generation Dormio gloves
Currently, Dormio has gone through two iterations, and the latest Dormio tested is the third-generation version.
The first generation Dormio gloves were equipped with an Arduino microcontroller and a small pressure sensor installed on the palm. When the experimenter enters sleep and clenches his fists, hand and head sensors can monitor. When the brain waves change, the sensors will trigger the Jibo robot to speak pre-programmed phrases to stimulate the sleeper's brain and make it Change the content of dreams based on what the Jibo robot says.
However, there were some problems with the first-generation device, such as the EEG equipment being too expensive and poor signal understanding; the sensor on the palm could only be in two states: on or off, but sleep is a gradual process. , the applicability is not high.
So, on the second-generation Dormio, Adam Horowitz made several changes: replaced the palm sensor with a flexion sensor, which can measure muscle tension at a finer level; changed the electroencephalogram Replaced with simpler biological signals, such as heart rate; replaced the Jibo robot with a smartphone application.
In its third generation, Dormio can monitor eyelid movements during sleep.
Smell Diffuser BioEssence
Judith Amores, another researcher at the Dream Lab, uses scent to enter the deeper subconscious of sleepers to change the content of dreams.
The device developed by Judith Amores is BioEssence, a wearable scent diffuser that monitors heart rate and brain waves to track sleep stages.
When the sleeper's state enters the N3 stage, which is associated with memory consolidation, the device releases a preset scent to allow the sleeper to associate their memory or learning behavior.
Different from triggering induction through hearing or hand-held sensors, entering the sleeper's subconscious through smell is more insensitive and difficult to wake up the sleeper. In addition, by smelling the smell, the sleeper's subconscious mind can enhance memory.
Judith Amores said:
The way smell enters the brain is interesting and can directly connect to the parts of the brain that deal with memory and emotion.
Meanwhile, Judith Amores said BioEssence could be used as a tool to change uncomfortable memories associated with trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder. Sleepers can heal while not fully awake by inhaling more positively associated scents.
Are dreams really controllable?
The technology that changes dreams is certainly cool, but dreams are not real objects. In an illusory state of consciousness, are dreams really controllable?
The importance and power of dreams lies in their ability to develop freely, according to Dr. Rubin Naiman, a sleep and dream expert at the University of Arizona. People tinkering with dreams is arrogant.
Deciphering dreams is based on the assumption that the subconscious mind is unintelligent and lifeless. The unconscious is different, it's another intelligence that we can learn from, talk to, rather than control it, or step in and try to steer it in the direction we want.
In addition, Rubin Naiman also added that the hypnotic state is a short bridge between arousal and sleep. If the treatment time is prolonged or destroyed, it may cause the sleeper to suffer from narcolepsy.
In response to this, Adam Horowitz and Judith Amores both made it clear that the Dream Lab’s intention is not to control dreams, but to gain a deeper understanding of themselves by entering the dream space.
For device research, Adam Horowitz said:
It’s like I gave you a mirror, and you can use it however you want, rather than mirroring it to satisfy my control. Come up with something. I have little interest in creating tools that allow people to distance themselves from themselves, which is never what I want.
Judith Amores said simply and straightforwardly that this is just to make people aware of the abilities they already have.
Although researchers at Dream Lab do not believe that their approach will interfere with dreams, on the other hand, the lab also realizes that invading and controlling dreams is a terrible thing.
Previously, Dream Labs had released a video called Cocoon. In the video, a person was huddled under a glass dome, covered with wires and small equipment.
The video demonstration included the research results of Dormio and BioAssence, which were used to enter dreams in his laboratory. However, during the process of influencing dreams, the experimenter suddenly opened his eyes.
Indeed, the video hints at the fact that most technologies that interact with the unconscious mind do so in a way that makes people feel out of control.
In other words, in the direction of improving self-understanding, there is a high probability of losing control. The duality of technology is once again on the table, and any technology that looks for inherently good or bad attributes will It is futile, and how to use technology in the right way is the key issue.
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