A NEUROHEADSET that allows the wearer to play videogames simply by thinking has been unveiled at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco and will go on sale later this year.
The Emotiv EPOC "brain-computer interface device" looks like a headphone strap with 14 neurosensors that branch off it like fingers. The sensors sit on the sides of the temple and top of the head.
The device can detect conscious thoughts, areas of brain activity, facial expressions and even some emotions such as frustration, shock and anger, and will cost about $US300 ($326) when it is released in late 2008.
The EPOC will ship with a range of games designed specifically for the headset, but gamers will also be able to use it with existing PC titles by mapping certain thoughts to keystroke patterns.
"Being able to control a computer with your mind is the ultimate quest of human-machine interaction," said Emotiv Systems CEO, Nam Do.
"When integrated into games, virtual worlds and other simulated environments, this technology will have a profound impact on the user’s experience."
Gaming journalist Brian Crecente, who tried the EPOC at the conference, said the sensation of having his thoughts affect actions on the screen was "quite strange".
"To start you need to quickly synch your brain, teaching the computer to recognise the thought you use to perform the specific action. In my case I imagined the box in the centre of the monitor drifting away," he said.
"After doing this for a second or two, while the program 'recorded' they asked me to give it a try and it worked. Imagining the box floating up off the top of the screen, I was surprised to see it waver and then slowly move upwards until it disappeared.
"I laughed in surprise and the box immediately dropped back down again."
Emotiv also said it would work with computer giant IBM to explore potential business uses for the technology, including virtual training and simulation courses.
"As interactions in virtual environments become more complex, mice and keyboards alone may soon be inadequate," said vice-president of IBM's digital convergence division Paul Ledak.
"BCI (brain-computer interfacing) is an important component of the 3D internet and the future of virtual communication."
i cant imagine it EVER being accurate enough to work properly for complex games, but if it could, i think that's just crazy
Project-K
No it can't possibly be accurate enough to have any reasonable application in gaming or every day computer use, but I can see this technology working wonders in a therapeutic program for people with disabilities.
SuspicionVandit
Now Doom3 can learn how dark I think it is.
pkcRAISTLIN
quote:
Originally posted by SuspicionVandit
Now Doom3 can learn how dark I think it is.
en hahahahaha!
speaking of horribly scary games, did you notice that a new aliens game is coming!? doom3 was scary but AvP takes the cake for me, i had to don my extra safety brown rubber undies when i played that game! awesome.
Gen3r4l1ty
quote:
Originally posted by Project-K
No it can't possibly be accurate enough to have any reasonable application in gaming or every day computer use, but I can see this technology working wonders in a therapeutic program for people with disabilities.
Yea, but if it's this far along today, that means in 5 years it very well could be accurate enough! (and thus, my nerdrection is raging)
Kind of reminded me of this video I saw this morning.
[skip to around the 2 minute mark to see it in action]
Ohhh to see where we'll be in 10 years...
Project-K
quote:
Originally posted by Gen3r4l1ty
Yea, but if it's this far along today, that means in 5 years it very well could be accurate enough! (and thus, my nerdrection is raging)
No, this isn't like voice activated software, it's dealing with stuff modern science doesn't even fully grasp yet. You just can't put a piece of gear on someone's head and read their thoughts. You can get vague indications of brain electrical activity and have software react to it, and that's about all you can do with it. This is just a more commercial version of an EEG.
Gen3r4l1ty
quote:
Originally posted by Project-K
No, this isn't like voice activated software, it's dealing with stuff modern science doesn't even fully grasp yet. You just can't put a piece of gear on someone's head and read their thoughts. You can get vague indications of brain electrical activity and have software react to it, and that's about all you can do with it. This is just a more commercial version of an EEG.
Exactly. It's proof of concept. The technology will only get better, as technology tends to do. Progress is a running theme of science. Just because we don't understand it now, doesn't mean we won't.
That would be like saying "we don't fully understand the capability of nanotechnology today, so therefore we will never use it beyond what we already do."
Project-K
quote:
Originally posted by Gen3r4l1ty
Exactly. It's proof of concept. The technology will only get better, as technology tends to do. Progress is a running theme of science. Just because we don't understand it now, doesn't mean we won't.
Yeah sure, but not in 5 years. It will take several decades at least.
CONNERMAN2000
Ill find the link at a time when I've got more time, but Sony recently patented technology VERY similar to this for the PlayStation 4. Crazy .
infinity HiGH
quote:
Originally posted by Project-K
Yeah sure, but not in 5 years. It will take several decades at least.
Decades at least??
Easily before 2020. You have to remember that technology is progressing at an exponential rate. Every year the steps we take get bigger and bigger. In 3 years time you'll probably be able to play Tetris with this device, and it'll only get more complex from there.
Magnus
quote:
Originally posted by infinity HiGH
Decades at least??
Easily before 2020. You have to remember that technology is progressing at an exponential rate. Every year the steps we take get bigger and bigger. In 3 years time you'll probably be able to play Tetris with this device, and it'll only get more complex from there.
Exponential rate. Spot on.
pkcRAISTLIN
quote:
It's a little black strap made by OCZ (who usually do RAM). It goes around your head, just above your eyebrows, and plugs into a USB port. And that's it, you just plugged your brain into your computer.
We'll go a bit into how it works and what it's measuring in a news story next issue. For now, here's what UT3 is like to play with your brain: scary.
The Neural Interface Actuator - I swear to God it's really called that - only replaces the keyboard part of normal control, so you still use the mouse to look around. Moving, jumping and firing, though, is done with your brain, and the first time you kill a man with your mind is a remarkable feeling.
I was playing on its simplest configuration, where it only measures one aspect of my brain activity. It's difficult to articulate what it is you do to control your 'level': physically clenching your jaw makes it hit the roof, but in fact you don't have to tense to move it. That's when it gets cool - by the end of my session with it, I could no longer say how I was telling the game when I wanted to move forwards, I was just doing it.
With just one scale, input is pretty crude: you wouldn't normally want to have all your keyboard controls dealt with by this thing. Jump and fire were just two points on the same scale on this setup, so there was no way for me to jump without also firing my weapon.
There are other levels that you can assign controls to: eye movement, and alpha and beta activity. But these are much tougher and less intuitive to control.
But that one level would make an amazing supplement to conventional controls, particularly if you tied it to something appropriate, like magic. You could play something like Jedi Outcast with normal controls, but perform all your key force powers with your brain: concentrate to Force Push, relax to Force Pull. Or spells in Oblivion, Augs in Deus Ex, vision modes in Splinter Cell.
