A look at these ideas, and we get a clear view of what the near future holds for us. When the revolution in the field of communication is arriving steadily on the chariot of innovation, a sneak peak ahead into the coming years shows the potential of the pioneering heads, and it is worth a watch. Communication has come of age, from Graham Bell’s wooden phone and Charles Babbage’s abacus to portable computing and touch sensitive interfaces, yet the inventors and scientists are on their toes, adding more techniques to the way we presently communicate. So, if passion drives you past the mere sight into a more coagulated acquaintance of how to communicate forth, scroll down here to be there already, and enjoy 20 awe-inspiring approaches to communication and beyond. • OCZ’s Brain Mouse If you are raving over Nintendo Wii’s controller, you will be overawed by the “brain mouse,” the brand new neural impulse actuator from OCZ. After game controllers with motion sensitive gameplay, we now have the brain mouse. With this new peripheral you can get your gaming characters to dance to your tunes with your thoughts. Read about the brain mouse here.

• The Audeo: Voiceless communication device The Audeo is a crafted interface for communication that requires no motor control or speech. The brain waves and signals are captured by this device and then assembled close to the user’s vocal cords, which on the effort to speak is transmitted across to the voice box – the neurological signals or the information then travels to the nearby computer for interpretation and finally results in a face-to-face interaction or communication over the phone. More.

• Gesture Jam Glove Controller Designed on the lines of a mouse or keyboard, this cutting-edge glove controller can translate human expressions into computer output such as images, sound or video. Sensors line up the interior to collect the core input data, which is then used to drive applications like music manipulation, DJ-ing, VJ-ing, photo editing and so on. The conversion is taken care of by the glove software. More.

• A Walking Billboard Lunar design’s BLU Jacket is a futuristic concept that could make walking billboards a very distinct possibility in the near future. Lunar Design has sandwiched electronics, notably futuristic organic fabrics and a GPS module, into the BLU Jacket concept. These futuristic fabrics that can contain semiconductors will enable the BLU jacket to display even your moods through signs and colors. More.

• Brain-Computer moves objects with the Mind German scientists from the Technical University of Braunschweig have developed a helmet that does something similar to the Mind Balance that reads your brain waves. Their helmet reads brain signals through hair and is powerful enough to control an RC car. The researchers envision to use their device on wheelchairs so that patients can use the device and be able to think what to do and make it happen. More.

• Coeno One Coeno One is an around-the-table application which allows you to connect laptops and tablet PCs and the unsorted data and images could be moved from the workspace table to a projected screen. The table is equipped with a wireless multimedia mouse pointer allowing the coordinator to re-organize the data on the table. More.

• Tongue Computing Georgia Tech scientists have made a breakthrough with a technology that is going to add yet another task to the already busy tongue. These inventors have come up with a computerized system that attaches a magnet to the tongue (which is then tracked) and can be used to control the keyboard of a computer. The idea is simple; each tooth would represent a few keys on the keyboard. The person would then move his tongue to a specific tooth to enter whatever key he desires on the computer system. More.

• Intuitively interactive touch table: EyeBoard

The EyeBoard is user-activated and offers unmatched point-of-sale opportunities. Designed to respond to multiple interaction points, the product is the best example of spontaneous customization. The EyeBoard is supported by the EyeClick technology, wherein companies can remotely operate a marketing platform from anywhere in the world. To deliver an intuitive response, the product uses optimized motion detection. More.

• G-speak Oblong Industries has taken the lead from the movie Minority Report, to develop a gesture reading interface, which would be similar to the one seen in the flick. Christened the G-speak, the spatial operating system is a gesture-based interface with recombinant networking and real-world pixels. More.

• Head-Aimed Remote Viewer HARV (Head-Aimed Remote Viewer) is undoubtedly the most evolved, Human Telepresence system aimed at paving the right track for robot-assisted military combat. The HARV system relies on a gimbal mounted remote video system fitted on the robot and arms the robot operator with gyro equipped goggles. The operator can monitor the movements of the battlefield and keep tabs on the happenings through the robot’s eyes. More.

• Visualizing dreams on screen A team of researchers in Japan claim to be developing a technology that would see dreams and thoughts displayed on a computer screen, so nothing remains a secret anymore. The researchers at the ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories have managed to reconstruct single images from the brain, a first ever visual demonstration of what people see directly from brain activity. More.

• Flexboard: A flexible blackboard The Flexboard comes as a perfect response to our interactivity needs. It is an established fact that classrooms are the best place to learn. Hence, it is also essential that the learning is structured to suit the learner. With the Flexboard, the training can either be team collaboration-based, project-based or one-on-one (especially for the slow learners). More.

• iMind The iMind is an iPod accessory, which helps users operate their music player with their mind. The iMind incorporates over 20 tiny sensors that - hold your breath! - read people’s thoughts and the slightest facial movements. You can change music by just envisaging an artist or a song. More.

• Quantum Cryptography System QC system sends a message in 0 and 1 format, and if someone tries to eavesdrop, the message structure changes and the recipient can detect the tampering. The message, which is sent in the form of a photon beam, doesn’t encode the message but only contains the key for the actual message, and the recipient later uses the key, which is shared by the sender to encode the message. More.

• HandTalk Taking motion sensing to all new heights, the HandTalk is a communication glove, which is to be worn by a deaf person on the palm. The different palm positions will be sensed by the glove through flexor pads which sense different resistances depending on the curl angle of the fingers. The glove will then synchronize these with the cellphone to display the different gestures into text messages, ultimately getting it converted into speech via an off-the-shelf translation program. More.

• Virtual Reality and Human Interface If the virtual reality system is successful, it will allow ground operators to control many UAVs simultaneously. New human interface techniques are being developed also, and they will help operators to effectively control multiple, semi-autonomous aircraft. The virtual and human interfaces when combined can help operators to use novel eye-tracking and voice control technology to monitor UAVs. More.

• Digital Bra Sarah Layne has created a buzz in the undergarments industry by creating what she calls a “Digital Bra.” The idea was to create a bra that could send out feedback noises. However, unfortunately for her, the noises couldn’t be heard until she touched the bra with the piezo disks in various locations. The fingers would have these piezo disks (microphones) attached and the bra would have speakers installed on the wearer’s body. More.

• Apple iThink iThink concept is perhaps a sneak peek at how digital technology would eventually be a part of our consciousness and how that would lead to a state of super-consciousness being attained. A scenario where you would…in Paul’s words…“interact with unlimited information, virtual imagery and sound, and even immersive environments, all within your mind.” iThink, if realized, will control our dreams, imagination, and perceptions etc., and give them a tangible shape. More.

• Clove 2 Dataglove A new computer peripheral called Clove, aka The Cemetech Bluetooth Dataglove 2, promises to revolutionize your life, especially if you’re fond of finishing your office work in places where it would be impossible to use a regular keyboard. The glove basically is meant to enable one-handed typing via a 31-combination finger chording design with three modes that allow every key on a standard keyboard to be typed with minimal effort. More.

• Mouth controlled joystick For those who are physically challenged or just too damn lazy, this is a very fine option. The all new joysticks that are controlled by the mouth are sure to become a bit of a rage with passing time. The joystick functions in a very simple fashion as each of its movements is controlled by your mouth and head movements. Be careful while using it, because you never know how violent your head spinning could get when you use something like this to play one of those games on Xbox or Playstation. More.

And, we’ve seen these techniques germinate now, therefore it is time to wait for the year 2009, to witness which way communication heads, and what we have realized by the end then.