Meta’s New Bracelet Reads Hand Gestures

Imagine the ability to control machines with your mind, instead of having to type on a keyboard or click on a mouse. Now Facebook’s parent company Meta is aiming for the next best thing—a new wristband that can, with the help of AI, infer electrical commands sent from the brain to muscles and convert them into computer signals, all in a noninvasive way. Although experts doubt it will replace keyboards and mice for traditional computing, it might have new uses for a wide range of applications, such as wearable interfaces for mobile devices, or thought-controlled assistive technologies for people with disabilities. The bracelet from Reality Labs at Meta uses metal contacts placed against the skin to detect electrical signals from muscles—a technique known as surface electromyography (sEMG)—which are generated in response to commands from the brain. The highly sensitive new system transmits this data to a computer using Bluetooth to help it recognize gestures such as pointing and pinching