Pentagon OKs brainwave binoculars

THE Pentagon has approved $US6.7 million ($7m) to develop binoculars that would tap a user's brainwaves to home in on threats.

Northrop Grumman Corporation said today it was leading an academic and industry consortium for the project, known as the Cognitive Technology Threat Warning System program, or CT2WS.

The plan featured a custom helmet equipped with electrodes placed on the scalp to record neural responses to the presence or absence of potential threats, Northrop said.

The brain's input would "train the system's algorithms, which will continue to be refined over time so that the warfighter is always presented with items of relevance to his mission", the company said.

The contract was awarded by the Defence Advanced Projects Agency, or DARPA, a Pentagon arm that acts as a cradle of new technology for use by the US military.

The goal is to detect enemy forces and vehicles over 1-10km while surveying a 120deg or greater field of view, according to documents on DARPA's website.