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Brain Control Headset for Gamers
gbjbaanb writes "Gamers will soon be able to interact with the virtual world using their thoughts and emotions alone.
Headsets which read neural activity are not new, but Ms Le [president of US/Australian firm Emotiv] said the Epoc was the first consumer device that can be used for gaming. 'This is the first headset that doesn't require a large net of electrodes, or a technician to calibrate or operate it and does require gel on the scalp,' she said. 'It also doesn't cost tens of thousands of dollars.'" Wait until the government can get warrantless wiretaps on the logs of those things.
I can't wait to see what some hardware hackers can do with this and a Lego Mindstorms NXT robot!
I'm personally glad to read this, as Gamera has been far too much of a free spirit wrecking havoc with his fire breath. This new era of brain control for Gamera should focus his energies far better to protect the cities of Japan.
-a.e.mossberg
Another new word of the 21st century:
brain sprain
Usage: "I sprained my brain playing HalfLife all through the weekend".
sigs are hazardous to your health
Probably could help them quiet a bit with things.
The simple truth is that interstellar distances will not fit into the human imagination
- Douglas Adams
I remember seeing these demonstrated at my college a few months back. At the time we could use them to point, and type things; but they were very slow and somewhat inaccurate.
At the time they did not have a "Backspace" method, so when you typed "O" instead of "P" you would still have to use the keyboard to delete it.
Found a YouTube video of it, but I think this one from a different company.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhR076duc8M
Look closer at the text. It looks like the device reads *facial expressions* through pointed sensors touching the skin. Yay. That sounds comfortable.
Did it say it required gel or did not. I have had multiple EEG's and the gel is not fun. It is like gel with sand in it. "This is the first headset that doesn't require a large net of electrodes, or a technician to calibrate or operate it and does require gel on the scalp," she said. "It also doesn't cost tens of thousands of dollars."
Linux is like a teepee. It has no windows, no gates, and there's an Apache inside.
Now when you die alone in your studio apartment the decomposing of your brain will be interpreted as commands, further delaying the chance that someone will alert the police that something is wrong.
This is definately a technology i'm interested in, it will be awesome for game controlling and possibly helpful for the disabled. However, I think there are some concerns which need to addressed in its application.
For example, the Half-Life 2 games send an enormous ammount of information to Valve regarding player performance and interaction.
Do you really want your emotional reactions broadcast over the internet? Aren't these pitfalls and questions inevitable with this technology?
I've been seeing these claims for years, but this technology is not really based on thought. It's just one form of bio-feedback. It is an example of control without conventional physical contact, but it does not process structured thought. The user typically has to train themselves to control the feedback mechanism. This is NOT reeading thoughts and taking some action. It is using thoughts to modulate some physical process. In that sense, it's not much different than training your fingers to operate a game controller.
Gamera, Gamera!
Gamera is really neat!
He is filled with turtle meat!
We all love you Gamera!
Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
Soon all effort will be removed from gaming what-so-ever. Think of all the precious calories we can save playing World of Warcraft with our minds! Wonder if the twitch reaction timing will mean I can finally beat a Warlock 1v1.
A real picture can be found here: http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/02/project-epoc-thought-powered-controller-could-gaming-get-any-la/
"Wait until the government can get warrantless wiretaps on the logs of those things."
Must every paragraph be twisted and poked until it makes some political comment. I don't know about the rest of you but I find it very annoying. Politics is only a small section that effect peoples lives. Things do happen without a political motive or really needs a political comantary. I think we as a people are getting obsessive over politics, everything needs a deep meaning. It doesn't enjoy life a bit.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
Did anyone else mis-read that headline as "Birth Control for gamers" or is it just me?
-- I wanna decide who lives and who dies - Crow T. Robot, MST3K
Without your space helmet, Dave, you're going to find that rather difficult.
No one brought up the inevitable hack to enable "no-hands" surfing for pr0n.
Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.
The brain is designed to control the body. Our hands are the most useful part of it, with reason.
...we could call it a POWER GLOVE! Maybe nintendo can use it for the next console.
The next step will have to be some sort of glove
But seriously, it'll have to be that. The big problem is making sure it understands our intentions enough to be useful. Imagine a pianist that can airplay wearing a glove that understand which key he meant to hit (How? Good luck with that...). THAT is the next step and it's hard as hell.
Until then, all we can do is make more ergonomic pads, mice (wiimote is a 3D mouse, fun but doesn't provide more efficient control) and keyboards.
Or if you plan to do drugs. Or if you speak critically of the government. Or if you plan to do anything at all that someone else might find objectionable (which is pretty much everything). Or if you just don't want your dirty laundry in public view.
There have been so many foiled plots from these so-called warrantless wiretaps, plots that if carried would have killed thousands or brought Internet businesses to their knees, that if you knew the full truth, you'd be glad these wiretaps exist.Name one.
As it is, the general public can't know everything, because it would compromise the very intelligence gathering that saves lives.That's a little too convenient.
For what it's worth, I believe you when you say you've worked in intelligence. You spout the same things they do.
Write your own Choose Your Own Adventure. http://www.freegameengines.org/gamebook-engine/
Hacking Hawking. Or, Hawking Hawking... and grafting him onto Slashdot... Might improve the moderation system, or...
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"