Slashdot Mirror
OCZ's Brain Mouse Hits the Store
John Roller writes "Three months to the day since Slashdot originally received word that OCZ's "brain-mouse" — the Neural Impulse Actuator was ready for shipping, the first in-depth review of the device containing pictures of the retail packaging along with several videos have arrived on the internet.
Overclock3D.Net got the first look at the device, and although it's still early days, they managed to play a game of "Pong" using only brain power.
The article is only part one in a month-long log of using the device, but it's extremely interesting to see what the people who have pre-ordered the device can expect from it when it arrives on their doorsteps shortly."
I am all for freedom from keyboard hunch
Hurrah? O.o
This sounds interesting, at least. I wonder if it works on linux. Seriously. Does it work as a standard HID device?
Show this to your friends and family that don't know what a real hacker is
They're Pinky and the Brain, yes Pinky and the Brain;
One is a genius, the other's insane;
Two laboratory mice, their genes have been spliced;
Before each night is done their plan will be unfurled;
By the dawning of the sun they'll take over the world;
Their twilight campaign is easy to explain;
To prove their mousy worth, they'll take over the earth;
They're Pinky, They're Pinky and the Brain Brain Brain Brain Brain Brain Brain Brain Narf.
Not referring to the brain-to-Headset interface, but the Headset-to-NIA interface. If both were to exist, and it somehow caught on, would we see a similar market to the mouse market? Leisurely users wearing a battery-powered headset around to add to their blue-tooth cell phone earpiece, and extreme gamers with a direct wired link to their PC to get the edge on the dimwits using laggy wireless devices.
Here endeth the sermonizing.
I know it sounds a little far fetched but I have to wonder if this sort of thing could eventually read out minds. How scary would it be if some one could hack your computer and read your mind?
It makes me feel like a Neuromancer future isn't all that far off.
"There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order." -Ed H
In car technology could become an auful lot easier and safer to use. This technology could easuly be ported to things such as changing songs and volume on an in car MP3 player and requesting directions to a GPS device. This could make driving more enjoyable and safer at the same time!
I bought and used a "Brain Mouse" back in '97. The ISP I worked for in College bought one from CES that year. It worked great, but just kind of fell off the map... Hmmm....
only part one in a month long log
I'd hope a month long log would have more than one part. It'd be exhausting otherwise.
This thing has been done before. Only problem is, you have to think in Russian. Once you manage that, it's no problem to hit the store.
This looks really neat, really promising, and is very exciting to see. It does make me think of a few questions though...
This review seems so inconclusive that I'm not even sure if the device really works, or is something faked up by a charlatan.
A remarkable idea, but if it winds up killing off gamers instead of being their salvation, its life as a product would appear to be nasty, brutish and short.
It seems almost like the Ouija board of computing.
D
From TFA: "Heading down to HQ, I knew the device would have limitations, but the little kid in me was imagining it granting me near-psychic powers. Unfortunately, after several hours of trying and still only being able to control one input, those limitations look to be greater than I thought. That being said though, I have every confidence that had I played with settings and kept the thing on my head for a few hours a day, I would learn to master more of the inputs and utilize them during gameplay. So if you are looking at buying the nia, I urge you to realize that you are buying a heavily scaled-down version of what you have envisaged." (emphasis mine)
Hmm, given that it lasts a couple of years with continuous martial arts training to establish a process approaching a near optimum with regards to 'naturally given/wired' I/O I still believe that it is appropriate not to be optimistic indeed.
CC.
TaijiQuan (Huang, 5 loosenings)
I wonder if this would do any good for Stephen Hawking and others afflicted with ALS?
Perhaps it should be call a 'head mouse', or 'face mouse', as 'Brain Mouse' is misleading.
The force that blew the Big Bang continues to accelerate.
Just read Neuromancer. William Gibson is an author with considerable foresight
They should have called this device 'trodes'. Now I just need to get my hands on a Hosaka and I'll be set for cyberspace!
I can't remember the last time I forgot anything.
AFAICT this thing hasn't actually hit any store yet... including the OCZ website. Wake me up when I can buy one. Is anyone even willing to talk about price?
From TFS:
Three months to the day since Slashdot originally received word... From TFA: Two months have passed since Overclock3D brought you news...Is Slashdot attempting to show that, for once, they're not the last to report on something?
;)
Is a headache the new RSD?
How practical would such a device be for working? It would actually be pretty useful to remove the need to do all the point-clicky stuff and keep my hands localized to the keyboard; granted, does a lot of that already with its interface. I don't know if it would be feasible, because I bet far more neurons would fire when working on a hard problem, thus interfering with the mouse's accuracy. I wouldn't want the mouse to fly everywhere if I were trying to type hello world :).
Pong paddle control requires movement in only one dimension. A typical mouse coordinates movement in two dimensions (without scroll wheels, buttons, etc). I am not familiar with the OCZ device, but using Pong as a demo seems like a low hurdle for a pointing device or for a device that interprets brain stimuli.
I would buy one today (even if just pre-ordering) if there was ANY link anywhere on where to freaking buy it... anyone? The slashdotting of 3doverclockedz0mgkfcbbq.com or whatever doesn't help matters either.
Finally.
It's so hard to scroll through porn with my mouse hand which is also my...
I don't think it's plug and play, I tried one and it said "Sorry no brain found"
Try these links instead: http://www.legitreviews.com/article/475/1/ http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38413
Health Insurance Quotes
The wiki article is for MC Hawking, aka Ken Leavitt-Lawrence. He's not Steven Hawking, he creates parodies of Hawking.
Can we please have a moderation option for "missed the joke"?
I lost almost all faith in OCZ when their budget-friendly phasechange cooler flopped.
Almost, because they sure made good RAM.
For those interested in whats inside the OCZ NIA, AnandTech has a product teardown available
Anyone else have specific info on whats inside, etc? First thought that comes to me is, I want to make one myself!
Teardown Article:
http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=452
Picture Gallery:
http://www.anandtech.com/Gallery.aspx?id=123
From the pictures in AnandTech's teardown:
..-2631 - 8-Pin DIP Dual-Channel High Speed 10 MBit/s Logic Gate Output Optocoupler
The controller for the whole board, and USB interface:
* PIC18F.. - microprocessor (w/ USB transceiver)
The input capture chip for the sensors:
* PCM1803A - 24-Bit, 96kHz, Stereo, Delta-Sigma Audio ADC
Misc supporting circuitry:
*
* ADUM1300 - Analog Devices Triple-Channel Digital Isolator
* Several HC595A shift registers
* A ripple counter
* Some other simple digital logic
All-in-all this doesn't seem particular complicated. I'm interested in how this compares with OpenEEG designs: http://openeeg.sourceforge.net/doc/
One interesting thing is the choice of the audio analog-to-digital converter as the sensor input capture device. Additionally, the use of the PIC18F as the main chip suggests that there's probably not a whole lot of processing going on in there (or else one would expect a dsPIC, or something else more powerful or better tailored to signal processing work).
Now that people don't need to keep their hands on the inputs at any time, I can see revolution in internet porn coming our way.
This thing is probably Very Nice (if it wasn't slashdotted) but I'd want to pass the raw output to my own data analysis algorithms. Why should it just be a gaming device? I guess it can double as a sleep rythm detector, or maybe I can tune it to work with me, instead of the other way around.
Any sufficiently advanced libertarian utopia is indistinguishable from government.
slashdotted ftw
-Noc
No, I did not read TFA.
However, I don't think that those devices actually work by reading brain waves. Anyone who has worked with an EEG knows how motionless you have to sit in order to measure brainwaves. When we do experiments the subjects have to avoid muscle and eye movement as much as possible. Every movement of eyes or muscles exceeds any brain wave by magnitudes. There's a reflex that causes your eyes to move upward when closing them. So you also have to blink as few times as you can, which makes the procedure even less pleasant
Playing games this way would be very uncomfortable over an extended period of time. Also, I think only moving the mouse could induce head movement enough to interfere with brain wave measurement.
tell me what what advatange of using direct input(the muscles are pretty close to brain) vs hands on mouse?
Finally people can have furry anal sex on secondlife with their uberleet mind powers!
Support my political activism on Patreon.
I wonder if when you are playing a game if it can somehow mimic something like 'force feedback' like you have in joysticks. When someone shoots your character in a first person shooter, can it run a hundred volts through your head. Give you a lot of incentive to play better.
-- I ignore anonymous replies to my comments and postings.
Specially since specialized peripherals for handicapped persons are extremely expensive, because, well... they are specialized. (a couple of almost custom made peripheral sold to a very small population of users).
On the contrary OCZ's creation is targeted at a much larger population which enable them to sell it at a much lower price.
Even if a handicaped's version is going to be a tad more expensive (necessary certification to be sure that the device doesn't fail badly and leaves the poor patient with no controlling means and with no help within reach), it's going to be a lot less expensive than device which are only built a hundred per year, but never the less can help some specific patients (which still have retained enough facial- and occulomotor capability so the myogram/occulogram part of the device can function reliably).
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
.... is that you will not see any of these for 4-6 weeks while they do another shipment. Reporters have snapped up all the first shipment at very high prices.
:P
OCZ have been very cagey about the device itself, and a used by the name of Jaster on the overclock3d.net forums has been keeping people up to date about whats going on.
So theres your inside goss
Does it fit over or under the tinfoil hat?
Don't go to a brothel if you want to buy broth
You know, at first I thought, "what, all they can do is play Pong?" But then I thought, "Hey, holy crap, they're playing Pong with their Minds!" and realized that that is pretty freaking cool if you can do that with a consumer device today.
expandfairuse.org
Yeeha! I hope this one can replace arrow keys and copy & paste for coding !
Can you imagine the possibilities if it really could read your mind?
- Think yes to accept the EULA (and donate your firstborn to us...)
- I know you didn't read it. Go back and read the licence properly...
Next, the brain powered keyboard!
Paul "Say no to feeping creaturism"
There's a nice bit on OCZ's forums where they show some screenshots of the software and what's in the box.. http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38413
for great justice
Ahhh! The Red Dwarf gameheads are coming, soon we'll all be addicted to MMOs using our NIA's, or to put it another way "Better Than Life"!
I really read "mouse brain hits the store". Would be more interesting....