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OCZ's Brain Mouse Hits the Store

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the world-will-never-be-the-same dept.

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."

7 of 150 comments (clear)

  1. Great for non-gaming also by conlaw · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Yes, this may help someone to do better in WOW or GTA IV but I'm thinking of some brilliant people whose bodies are hampered by cerebral palsy. Their main -- or sometimes only -- method of communication is through a computer which they may have trouble using because one or both of their hands is not fully functional. One of these units could make a major difference in their lives.

    Here endeth the sermonizing.

    1. Re:Great for non-gaming also by lawaetf1 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      True, this sort of tech could be incredibly liberating for someone with a neurological disorder. I expect, however, that we'll sooner see development in the porn and gaming industries. The demand is simply too huge.

      The world of Fahrenheit 451 and/or the Matrix is already here for those who spend their time in front of MMORPGs, SecondLife, and the like. Once we can eliminate the need for our clumsy appendages in interacting with the make-believe we can take another willful nibble of the blue pill. It's surely a bad analogy but I see resemblance between bugs in democracy (politicians avoid dealing with looming problems [budget deficit,etc] to achieve short-term goals [reeelction]) and bugs in the human psyche (if it feels good, do it again.. and again.. and again.. even if long-term consequences are massively negative).

      --
      CommentBot 0.7a running with args "-module irritate,disagree -target random"
    2. Re:Great for non-gaming also by kiehlster · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I agree this has some nice benefits for the disabled, but it makes me wonder why someone like Stephen Hawking hasn't adopted this kind of device already, instead using a lever by his cheek and blink glasses. Yes he's using old software because he doesn't like the voices on newer software, but he could certainly speed his communication by using his bright mind to point to the text he wants to construct and say.

    3. Re:Great for non-gaming also by Instine · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I used to work for a lawyer with severe cp and who had very garbled speech, and little use of his muscles. While it took most people some time to understand him, his SR software (Dragon Dictate) seemed no less accurate than with any other user. But he was just one example... There are those whose voice is not up to it. But this could well be a better interface for the guy I know re cursor movement and other 'pointer device' actions (he currently uses a head stick with great difficulty)

      --
      Because you can - or because you should?
  2. Neat, but... by blindd0t · · Score: 3, Interesting

    This looks really neat, really promising, and is very exciting to see. It does make me think of a few questions though...

    • It's not uncommon to use voice-chat while gaming. How is this device affected by those muscle movements and brain activity?
    • I often eat and drink while at the PC (i.e. I was on lunch break while reading the article). How do those muscle movements affect the device?
    • Given the two points above, is there any quick and easy means of temporarily disabling the device or ignoring the input from it? For example, a hot-key would work, or some head-phones have mute buttons built onto them. Of course, I don't expect it to be perfect, but something like that could help deal with its imperfections.
    • What's the price of this thing?!
    • How long from now until Hawking can kick our asses in a FPS? =P
  3. Stephen Hawking by yorkrj · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I wonder if this would do any good for Stephen Hawking and others afflicted with ALS?

  4. I want this with a programmable interface by infolib · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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.