1064 Dr. Z Appears Again!

A neural interface technology was used on Li Gaoliang’s t.i.tanium alloy prosthetics, allowing him to stand up again. The information technology experts at the Jinling Inst.i.tute for Advanced Study also told something to Lu Zhou…

Which was that the technology could be applied to more than just paraplegics with damaged spinal nerves.

If they could compile complex visual, motion, and auditory signals, then simulate by directly connecting the device to the neural pathways, it could be possible to transform consciousness into a digital world. Virtual reality technology would no longer be a fantasy.

Back then, Lu Zhou said he was interested in the research project, but he had more important things to do, so he left it aside.

But now, with the breakthrough in carbon-based chip technology, as well as having saved up a ton of system general points, this project was reignited in Lu Zhou’s mind.

Lu Zhou thought about Vera, who was still lying asleep. Even though he couldn’t wake her up now, he thought he should at least do something for her.

Even though he knew clearly that this device was unlikely to work on her body…

After putting on a change of clothes, Lu Zhou sat in front of the computer and reviewed the things he wrote down.

Basically, the technology could be split into three components.

One was the collection of neural signals, the other was processing the neural signals, and finally, the simulation of neural signals, that was, feeding back the information to the brain.

Each of these components was more technically difficult than the previous one.

Collecting nerve signals was very simple. EEG sensors had been around since the 80s. This technology had come far advanced since then, exceeding most people’s imaginations.

The VR system created by Eyemynd in Silicon Valley allowed users to navigate the virtual world through their minds, while the students of the University of Florida dominated the world’s first brainwave drone compet.i.tion in 2018. These were all examples of the technology.

As for the second component, the neural signal processing technology, that was far more complicated than the collection of neural signals.

Even though on the surface this was a problem regarding a computer’s ability to process information, it was actually more complicated than that.

This was because humans knew very little about their own brains. Visual signals, auditory signals, and olfactory signals stimulated the brain much lesser than action signals.

Wanting to distinguish between these signals, as well as compiling instructions to be used in the virtual reality world… These were part of the second technology component.

As for the third component, which was to transmit the electrical signal processed by the neural modem to the brain, it was that part that had the largest effect on the user’s experience. It was also the most complicated and difficult part of the entire neural interface of virtual reality technology.

The reason was simple.

If people couldn’t even understand the signals coming from the brain, how could they possibly input signals to the brain?

One of the more advanced approaches was to implant neuroprosthetics in the cerebral cortex.

However, this technology was mainly used to repair motion impairments caused by nerve damage. There was still a long way to go before they could simulate a series of signals such as vision, hearing, and smell.

The leader of this field was the Catalan Inst.i.tute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in Barcelona, Spain. By using graphene-based materials, researchers at the inst.i.tute were designing an electrode that could interact with the brain tissue interface.

In fact, Lu Zhou did not have a complete set of blueprints for the third technology component.

Most of the answers he bought using the general points were concentrated on the second component, which was the processing of neural signals.

The only brain signal simulation he could achieve was visual.

As for other senses such as smell, touch, and hearing, he would have to rely on external stimuli.

Like some headphones.

Lu Zhou felt a little downcast by this.

If he could simulate all perceptions, he could achieve the ultimate form of virtual reality technology.

Which meant connecting the consciousness to the virtual reality world, giving people a second life.

When the time came, people could do everything they wanted, skydiving, rock climbing, surfing; they could spend the rest of their lives with 2D characters if they wanted to.

Unfortunately, his discipline level was not high enough for the system to give him a complete answer.

Fortunately, the fact that the system gave him the option to exchange general points for an answer meant that he could have solved this problem on his own.

However, it would have been much more c.u.mbersome.

Lu Zhou sat in front of his computer and contemplated for a second.

While not being in the best mood, he found a theoretical section in his notes that wasn’t too advanced, as well as not involving any patents. He compiled the materials into a paper.

He did not expect this paper to revolutionize the virtual reality industry, but he hoped this paper could inspire other scholars to produce valuable research…

As for the author of the paper…

Considering the fact that the core research of this paper was in computer science and biology, Lu Zhou used his Dr. Z alias name.

Last time, his cover was nearly blown. Having learned his lesson, he didn’t upload the paper to arXiv. Instead, he uploaded it to BioRxiv.

Just when Lu Zhou was about to upload the paper, he suddenly realized something.

Wait a second, if I upload it to BioRxiv, wouldn’t it be more suspicious?

Lu Zhou closed the BioRxiv website and uploaded the paper on arXiv.

Even though there were not as many biologists who followed arXiv than BioRxiv, more researchers in the areas of mathematics, computer science, and physics closely followed arXiv. It was more likely for scholars working on neural networks to follow arXiv, rather than BioRxiv.

Of course, biological neural networks and mechanical neural networks were one of the most difficult areas in biology and computer science. It was rare for a scholar to master both fields.

Lu Zhou hoped to find an excellent researcher to collaborate with… Hopefully, they could help him on this research project.

However, he didn’t have high hopes.

The main reason for him to upload this paper was to make it less suspicious when he eventually created the VR technology.

After all, if this technology came out of nowhere, people in the field would raise questions.

It was almost like creating an atomic bomb without discovering the ma.s.s-energy equations.

Even though Lu Zhou didn’t care what other people thought, it was better to be safe than sorry.

After Lu Zhou uploaded the paper, he leaned back in his chair and spoke.

“Xiao Ai, is it ready?”

The drone flew over with a line of text on its display.

[It is ready! Master, Master, where do we begin! (๑•̀ᄇ•́)و✧]

Lu Zhou looked at the mechanical arm on the wall dancing up and down. He pondered for a second before replying, “Let’s build a recliner first.”

[…? Recliner? (•̀∀•́)]

“Yeah, so people can lie down… It should be more comfortable for the user. I’ll find some ergonomic designs online. You have the materials to build it. Then the helmet… I think this has to be well designed. The neural signal modem and EEG sensor have to be integrated into the helmet. Let me think… Yes, that should do.”

Lu Zhou sat in front of the computer tinkering with a piece of 3D design software. He was already in a flow state.

What he didn’t know was that the paper on arXiv published by Dr. Z had already begun to shock the biology community.