Facebook Inc pulled aside the curtain on a secretive unit headed by a former chief of the Pentagon's research arm, disclosing that the social media company is studying ways for people to communicate by thought and touch.

脸书公司日前揭晓了一个由国防部某研究署前负责人牵头的神秘部门，并透露这家社交媒体公司正在研究让人和人之间通过意识和触摸来交流的方法。

Regina Dugan, in charge of this secretive hardware division, Building 8, told developers at a conference in San Jose, Calif that the mind-reading technology could help people type 100 words a minute from their minds - about five times faster than we type from our smartphones.

雷吉娜·杜根是这个名为Building 8的神秘硬件部门的负责人。在加利福尼亚州圣何塞市举办的发布会上，她对开发人员表示，这项“读心术”可帮助人们在心里每分钟打出100字，比我们用智能手机打字要快5倍。

Separately, Building 8 also is working on technology that could help people "hear" with their skin.

另外，Building 8也在致力于研究帮忙人们通过皮肤“听音”的技术。

"It sounds impossible, but it's closer than you may realize," Dugan said.

杜根说道：“这听起来匪夷所思，但它比你想象的要更接近现实。”

Using brain implants¹, people can already type eight words a minute, she said. Facebook's goal, working with researchers at several U.S. universities, is to make the system non-invasive, as well as fast enough so that people can type 100 words a minute just by thinking.

她表示，通过使用大脑植入物，人们已经可以每分钟打8个字了。而脸书公司的目标是与美国几所大学的研究人员一起，使该系统不具有侵入性，同时还要足够快，这样人们就可以仅凭意识便可每分钟打出100字。

Possible uses include helping² disabled people and "the ability to text your friend without taking out your phone," she said.

她表示，该技术还可能用于帮助残疾人，以及“让你不必拿出手机就能发短信给朋友”。