Cyberware

Cyberware is a relatively new and unknown field (a proto-science, or more adequately a "proto-technology"). In science fiction circles, however, it is commonly known to mean the hardware or machine parts implanted in the human body and acting as an interface between the central nervous system and the computers or machinery connected to it. More formally: Cyberware is technology that attempts to create a working interface between machines/computers and the human nervous system, including the brain. Examples of potential cyberware cover a wide range, but current research tends to approach the field from one of two different angles: interfaces or prosthetics. Brain–computer interface The first variety attempts to connect directly with the brain. The data-jack is probably the best-known, having heavily featured in works of fiction (even in mainstream productions such as Johnny Mnemonic, the cartoon Exosquad, and The Matrix). It is the most difficult object to implement, but it is also the most important in terms of interfacing directly with the mind. In science fiction the data-jack is the envisioned I/O port for the brain. Its job is to translate thoughts into something meaningful to a computer, and to translate something from a computer into meaningful thoughts for humans. Once perfected, it would allow direct communication between computers and the human mind. Large university laboratories conduct most of the experiments done in the area of direct neural interfaces. For ethical reasons, the tests are usually performed on animals or slices of brain tissue from donor brains. The mainstream research focuses on electrical impulse monitoring, recording and translating the many different electrical signals that the brain transmits. A number of companies are working on what is essentially a "hands-free" mouse or keyboard. This technology uses these brain signals to control computer functions. These interfaces are sometimes called brain-machine interfaces (BMI). The more intense research, concerning full in-brain interfaces, is being studied, but is in its infancy.