OCZ's Brain Wave Interface Headband Reviewed

J. Dzhugashvili writes "Could you control a game using your jaw muscles, eye movements, and brain waves? OCZ designed its futuristic Neural Impulse Actuator controller for that very purpose, and it claims the device lets players shorten their response times and interact with games more naturally. But is it really all it's cracked up to be? The Tech Report took the NIA for a spin in order to answer that question, and it made some interesting discoveries along the way. The verdict is that the NIA works (mostly) as advertised, but getting used to it can take enough dedication and perseverance to put off many prospective users."

Comments

Just..

[Gewalt]

Just... No thanks. Period.

Re:Just..

[Anonymous Coward]

Says the newb who just got fragged ten times in a row in deathmatch.

Re:Just..

[caffeinemessiah]

More importantly, does it have an API I can use to record my own brainwaves and stick my own machine learning algorithms in there? This thing could revolutionize collecting EEG data from voluntary subjects and subsequently bring up a bunch of interesting non-gaming applications.

Re:Just..

[Awptimus Prime]

Says the newb who just got fragged ten times in a row in deathmatch.

This is actually quite an insightful comment you made.

Many people who don't wish to play the hardware arms race every few months will just head on over to consoles where skill is a greater asset than your video card, raid array, quad core PC, and the mountain of macros/perhipials, scripts, replacement decals, odd graphics configurations and mods many people use in PC shooters to try and obtain some kind of advantage.

A fine example is a former roommate of mine. He would buy every whiz-bang device, run SLI with two expensive video cards, raid0 to get started on levels sooner than others, etc, would verbally crap all over anyone he beat even if they were using an inferior computer with a horrid frame-rate and bleached out video. The topic of the day was how good he was at the BF series, Q3, etc. Mind you, if ever at a friend's house, he'd get rolled over if having to use a different machine.

When we eventually picked up an Xbox, I destroyed him at every multi-player game we had and still do on every console game up through the 360. After playing several thousand games of Halo3, I've yet to see more than a handful of matches where someone was 15+/0, as opposed to PC land where I've seen players with 30+/0 games regularly and curiously tracking and shooting players through crates and walls.

Re:Just..

[astrotek]

thats because halo aims for you and the movement control is horribly inaccurate

playing on your own setup always has its advantages, mouse sensitivity and the delay between your mouse and the update on the screen is a big deal and can throw anyone off that invests enough time playing for long periods of time

Re:Just..

[jd]

All you need to do is write a shim driver that will take the output from the existing driver (or the port the existing driver is reading from) and deliver to the software portion of OpenEEG. Well, in principle. In practice, it depends on what the headband outputs.

Re:Just..

[cubic6]

The reason matches tend to be so close in Halo 3 is because, contrary to your assertion, "skill" is almost nonexistant as a factor. It's an easy FPS, designed to be fun for everyone. You don't get big winners, but you don't really get big losers either. Hitboxes are huge, everything moves slowly, and controller controls are horrible for any kind of accuracy. Simple strategy and luck become the only factors, and since most people are devoid of the first and equal on the second, you get close games.

Your implication is that anyone who actually does well in PC FPSs is hacking, but that just tells me that you've never played with anyone with actual skill. While *my* former roommate wasn't into gaming much, his girlfriend played CAL Counterstrike matches, and I usually watched from over-the-shoulder. I'm not horrible myself, but in any kind of 1v1 situation, she'd wipe the floor with me, and did pretty regularly when we played public servers or LAN games. The funny part? She didn't even own her own computer at the time, she played on my roommate's, which was a mid-range Dell with nothing fancy.

About your roommate, while he's probably an idiot who wasn't very good to start with, there's definitely something to be said about your "home" machine. You get used to the feel of the keyboard, the precision and delay of the mouse, even things like the color balance or brightness of your monitor can mess you up if they're changed. Playing on a different PC can really throw someone off their game.

Re:Just..

[oskard]

Couldn't agree more. Along the same line, all of the major LAN competitions are NOT BYOC. You are given a computer to play on. You only provide your mouse, mousepad, and headset. Sometimes users insist on a special keyboard, but the default is usually good enough for anybody.

This means even Fatal1ty plays on an unknown system, but only provides the tools he is comfortable with. The level of talent in players in a professional level transcends what tweaking, cheating, or hacking can provide. The ability to read opponents accurately and react correctly really makes the difference.

Re:Just..

[neight108]

It's like when I play table tennis... I'm only good with my own paddle. But yeah, I definitely agree. I just got the OCZ Equalizer mouse, and I find myself playing with lower mouse sensitivity because that's what I'm used to...even though I could frag faster with more DPI.

Re:Just..

[Awptimus Prime]

Whoever modded this up doesn't play Halo3. Only two weapons in the game have auto-aim, and that's because are targeting weapons. The rest shoot precisely where you aim the cross-hair, with exception to the assult rifle and turret guns spraying round off at angles when sustaining a high rate of fire.

Perhaps you are talking about the PC version, for which I can't comment, but my original comment basically affirming what you are saying abut needing to be at your own PC. Not very fun to be tied to a machine when you can sit down on a sofa, with friends, and play games in a more comfortable setting.

Re:Just..

[Awptimus Prime]

The hitboxes on the battlefield games and the Halo series seem to be about the same. Sure, the controls suck, but when everyone is using a similar controller, it makes for a more even battle. The game moves slowly, because it is intended to be fun on this particular controller setup and emulate the speed at which people move (like CS), as opposed to the sprinting pace of Quake or Unreal. As for accuracy, the game rewards those who are actually able to get their accuracy up, as the "headshot" hitbox is rather small for thumb-based controls. I've seen a mess of people who are terrible at the game, one kill for ten deaths are common, even with over a thousand matches on their accounts. To say it's somehow not a good shooter because running in packs and using simple tactics wins the day, I'd to comment that simple tactics and team-work tend to win every game from Quake to Unreal. All these games have different tactics, or good treadmills to run in and I've yet to find one where it's hard to learn.

I've been playing shooters multi-player since the days of Doom. I've been exposed to all sorts of player skill levels, game problems, hacking, etc. Just because it's a guarantee that people will defend PC gaming on /., it doesn't add truth to the fact that a number of people who use transparency hacks in games aren't any better or worse than other gamers, they just happen to be cheating because that's their personality and they find some joy from it. Trust me, I've worked with a few jokers who used to cheat at CS and they were good with or without their cheats. Remember, immaturity does not equal a lack of intelligence.

My roommate was alright, I am just using him as an example of someone who is great on a particular computer, but can't play without his toys. For instance, I'd imagine he'll be buying one of these new head controllers and beat down people who would have been an even match, if only they weren't having to physically reach for a button to throw a grenade, or use some other special attack, that he's going to be learning to do with the new hardware.

Everything else aside, you can piss on my opinions, but they are marketing this device as giving players an advantage over those who don't have them, that was kind of the point I was speaking of in my OP. Regardless, chat with some folks on PSN or XBL and you'll find plenty of folks who have been playing FPS games over a decade on the PC and stopped for the same reasons I did: DRM problems, cheating, constant expense of upgrades, people acting like assholes, server admins booting good players because they suspect a cheater when their score is good but are absent when someone is really cheating and causing people to leave in droves, etc.

Re:Just..

[Awptimus Prime]

What you mention seems to equate to what I was saying about consoles being more level playing fields, people are given equal machines for a reason at these events. You don't get that luxury when just bumping around on the 'net.

Bah, I forget this is /. sometimes. Everyone wants to blindly save PC gaming, which requires the use of Windows over 90% of the time unless you want to wait a long time for Wine support or a port. I say let it go down the stinker and don't look back.

Re:Just..

[wolf12886]

Almost all weapons, in all major console FPS's have auto aim, period.

Only two of the weapons in halo 3 may have noticeable auto aim, but I guarantee they all have some.

There are several types of auto-aim, and most games use a combination, for instance, its common to reduce your aiming sensitivity when you pass your croshairs over any enemy, making your reticule stick to them a bit, also, as you mentioned, some games will curve projectiles towards your enemy, register hits on near misses, or even follow targets with your crosshairs a bit.

Need an example of extremely subtle but effective auto aim? look at halo 1 (sorry, its the only console shooter I played seriously), the game feels as if it has none, yet sometime when your playing, try to shoot a teammate with your sniper rifle, you can still hit them, but its a hell of alot harder, as your crosshairs wont stick to them at all.

Re:Just..

[nog_lorp]

Or just strafe such that your crosshair passes over an enemy for a moment. You will turn so your aim stays on them for a moment, and you will not end up walking in a straight line, but a wide V.

(I say crosshair. A reticule is "Noun    1.    reticule - a woman's drawstring handbag; usually made of net or beading or brocade; used in 18th and 19th centuries". Reticule = Microsoft trying to destroy good terminology. Its a conspiracy!)

Re:Just..

[nog_lorp]

PS, Wolf, I like your signature. H. Ford believed he could inspire Mussolini!

Re:Just..

[indi0144]

That people and their beloved rigs.. as You know I still play Q2 and I play with a 7 button generic optical mouse, the mm keyboard that came with the box, a Fx5200 and a wooping 90 ping when fast.. and I kick ass on a daily basis on a very fast mod. I call gaming rigs and accessories in the same market segment as Monster Cables. The only thing I would upgrade if for a G keyboard as having 15 configurable keys can cover almost all repetitive task of any design/coding app, But I wouldn't use them for gaming as I don't use WASD kb configuration :)

Gotta admit that this device has some potential, If you can hack it to control the mouse or if you use it in other kind of software as Media Players. Maybe in 3 years will be ready for competitive gaming.. but the need to focus on finding the way to control mouse movement not keyboard, Mouse can benefit way too more from fast neural response.. after all, Whats more critical in FPS the mouse or the keyboard? most people bind everything critical to their mouse.

Re:Just..

[Awptimus Prime]

I didn't say curve toward enemies, they start spitting out in angles becoming inaccurate. The differences between version 1 and 3 are huge. 1 & 2 had slight auto aim, 3 only has 'face painting' or whatever it's called for zeroing head shots with certain guns.

If we are going to go by this, I don't think we can safely say any shooter doesn't have some degree of auto aim.

Odd that this is informative when the person admits never having played the game. I'm just going to refrain from posting about consoles as the slashtrolls eat it up too much.

Re:Just..

[cubic6]

What you mention seems to equate to what I was saying about consoles being more level playing fields, people are given equal machines for a reason at these events. You don't get that luxury when just bumping around on the 'net.

Bah, I forget this is /. sometimes. Everyone wants to blindly save PC gaming, which requires the use of Windows over 90% of the time unless you want to wait a long time for Wine support or a port. I say let it go down the stinker and don't look back.

No, you're still completely missing the point. Calling console gaming an "equal playing field" is like calling No Child Left Behind "equal education". It's equal because performance is equally handicapped, and because players have equally LIMITED tools. Playing a FPS at a tournament with standardized PCs isn't about handicapping, it's about making sure that every player has the tools they require to play their best, which is the very OPPOSITE of the idea behind console FPSs.

Here's another way to look at it. Say you're playing golf with your buddies, and one of them is a pro golfer. He has his own really nice set of clubs, matching tees, and a personal ball-washer. You have some hand-me-down clubs that you found in the attic, and the rest of your friends are similarly equipped. He solidly trounces all of you every time you play, and eventually you all get tired of it. You tell him that from now on, the only club allowed during your games is a mini-golf putter. Sure, he's still better than you with the putter, he makes nicer shots on the green, but it doesn't really matter, because you ALL suck with the putter compared to regular clubs. But the playing field is equal now, and that's what counts, right?

Console gaming is golfing with nothing but a putter. PC gaming lets you use whatever clubs you can afford, and competitive PC gaming makes sure that everyone has equally nice clubs and that nobody's using a guided missile to drop their ball a foot from the hole when nobody's looking. If you want to keep playing mini-golf, be my guest, I'm sure it's a good time. However, if you run around screaming about how pro golfers are only good because they have nice clubs, and that you'd show them who the real pro is if they came to your mini-golf course for a few games, you WILL be ridiculed, and deservedly so.

Finally, this has nothing to do with Windows or Linux or any other OS for that matter. For fuck's sake, you're playing Microsoft games on a Microsoft console and whining that PC games require Windows? Kindly take your stupid off-topic OS trolling and get the fuck out.

Re:Just..

[aj50]

folks who have been playing FPS games over a decade on the PC and stopped for the same reasons I did: DRM problems, cheating, constant expense of upgrades, people acting like assholes, server admins booting good players because they suspect a cheater when their score is good but are absent when someone is really cheating and causing people to leave in droves, etc.

Are you kidding? Online FPS DRM hasn't changed since counterstrike. None of the big multiplayer FPSs that came out last year even needed the CD in the drive.

Your upgrade point is good, online console games suffer from a complete lack of admins so when someone is cheating, nothing happens (immediately, after a while they get banned, just like with punkbuster and VAC)

The rest of your points are still a problem on consoles.

Re:Just..

[Fifty Points]

Controller thumbstick = 360 degree axial movement.
Keyboard = 4 way directional movement.
Just because a mouse alone is superior to a single thumbstick, doesn't negate all the other advantages a controller holds over a keyboard (movement, button placement, tactile response, ergonomic comfort level, analogue button response, freedom to leave your chair and keep playing, etc.)

Re:Just..

[Fifty Points]

Don't tell this guy that.

Re:Just..

[Jesus_666]

On the other hand, controllers have very few buttons in hard to reach spaces if you don't want to use more than one hand. Having an analog stick for movement and the mouse for aiming would be nice; it would be the most precise way of playing. However, using a gamepad in one hand and the mouse in another means that the gamepad hand has access to maybe four buttons. On a keyboard I can reach more than fifteen keys without even moving the hand. If we don't count WASD (stick equialent) that's still eleven keys that can usually be freely assigned.

Even games that don't need extremely fast reactions are hard to play if they need more than a few keys/buttons. Recently, I mapped my Playstation gamepad workalike to key presses and tried to play Escape Velocity: Nova. Even when I mapped the analog sticks to key presses I ran out of buttons. The game makes use of the keyboard and it's much easier to play when you do have access to lots of keys.

The controller is nice for precise movement and it's very portable, but on the other hand it's not as good for fast, precise aiming and it lacks the keyboard's numerous keys. That's what I see as a major reason why nothing has yet displaced the keyboard in mainstream PC gaming. Lack of movement precision is usually just a minor nuisance at best while being able to directly switch to a certain weapon by pressing a number key is very useful.

Re:Just..

[WaroDaBeast]

This is why you should take the 'u' off -- "reticle" -- so as to avoid ambiguity. ;)

Re:Just..

[wolf12886]

I never said I haven't played it, I've played almost all successful shooters that have come out for the 360 for a few days at least, halo1's just the only console shooter besides ghost recon 1 and vegas II that I ever got seriously into. Most of the games I play competitively, I play on PC.

Re:Just..

[Trahloc]

Hah, brilliant, oh how I wish I had mod points and could get you higher than +5.

Re:Just..

[BigJClark]

Amen. I've been playing CS since 1.3, and have to say, the amount of skill people show in CS is.. frankly.. scary. These people I know personally and do not hack. A couple are CAL-o, and one is CAL-i. They have to play on certain servers, servers that welcome better players, because on your standard pubbie noob server, they get banned. Interestingly though, their steam_Id's are all 5 digit. They've been playing since the dawn of time. Mine is :)

Re:Just..

[GWBasic]

Console gaming is golfing with nothing but a putter. PC gaming lets you use whatever clubs you can afford, and competitive PC gaming makes sure that everyone has equally nice clubs and that nobody's using a guided missile to drop their ball a foot from the hole when nobody's looking. If you want to keep playing mini-golf, be my guest, I'm sure it's a good time. However, if you run around screaming about how pro golfers are only good because they have nice clubs, and that you'd show them who the real pro is if they came to your mini-golf course for a few games, you WILL be ridiculed, and deservedly so.

There's plenty of variables in console gaming. Some people have nicer TVs and sound systems, and others buy fancy controllers. I certainly had a set of fancy Nintendo and Super Nintendo controllers when I was younger.

I think a better analogy would be saying that console gaming is like a cheap, public golf course; and PC gaming is like an expensive private golf course. Or, you could say that console gaming is like using "regulation" clubs & balls, and PC gaming is like using unregulated clubs and balls.

Another analogy is that console gaming is like mini-golf, and PC gaming is like real golf. In the case of mini-golf, there are pleny of variables; yet the barrier-to-entry is much lower then real golf.

Major geek cred...

[Dice]

... to the first person to frag Stephen Hawking.

Re:Major geek cred...

[Adriax]

Good luck on that, Hawking with a mind interface becomes a virtual Chuck Norris. He's so badass he can rocketjump in counterstrike!

Re:Major geek cred...

[oskard]

He's so badass he can rocketjump in counterstrike!

hax

Re:Major geek cred...

[Fifty Points]

http://hawkingquakemaster.ytmnd.com/

Re:Major geek cred...

[Anonymous Coward]

Interesting how his display doesn't suffer from the same video interlacing the rest of the picture suffers.

Sounds like a bait-and-switch....

[TomRK1089]

From TFA, it sounds like it's responding more to your small muscle movements than actual neural control. It's not as though you picture yourself running, and Gordon Freeman jogs across the screen. In that regard, there's a long way to go to true neural control.

Re:Sounds like a bait-and-switch....

[4D6963]

Which raises an important question. Why can't it be like this? Can't the equipment pick up a difference between when we think about running and when we don't? Is it a matter of sensitivity? Or yet something else?

Re:Sounds like a bait-and-switch....

[Anonymous Coward]

the last review of this said that at first it is in fact muscles its responding to, but eventually you hone in on the thought of those muscles or somesuch with training.

Re:Sounds like a bait-and-switch....

[Anonymous Coward]

From TFA, it sounds like it's responding more to your small muscle movements than actual neural control. It's not as though you picture yourself running, and Gordon Freeman jogs across the screen. In that regard, there's a long way to go to true neural control.

RTFA, it doesn't only sound like it, the text says so specifically ;) . Rubbish.

Re:Sounds like a bait-and-switch....

[xalorous]

It's sensing movement. But instead of the movement of keys or the mouse, it senses movement of your head/face/ears, nose etc.

Re:Sounds like a bait-and-switch....

[4D6963]

I think you didn't reply to the comment you meant to reply to..

why?

[Anonymous Coward]

just create your own API.

Say 'Fire!' into the headset and it will fire

[suso]

Or you can just blow into the microphone.

Re:Say 'Fire!' into the headset and it will fire

[clone53421]

There isn't actually a microphone...

Re:Say 'Fire!' into the headset and it will fire

[Anonymous Coward]

It's a Nintendo DS joke.

Re:Say 'Fire!' into the headset and it will fire

[True Vox]

Maybe, but I beg to differ. I remember the original NES had an amazing tool that allowed you to look through the "laserscope" and say "Fire" and it would shoot the light gun. Or you could just blow into the mic... ;) But I could be wrong. God knows it works with the DS too... maybe it's just my age showing. :D

Re:Say 'Fire!' into the headset and it will fire

[Bieeanda]

There was a PC game back in the days of DOS, that used the same gimmick. It came with a cheap headset mike, and would fire when you said 'fire'. It would also fire when you sneezed, and would waste ammo when you shouted at your Mom that you were busy doing something important and would she please leave you the fuck alone.

Re:Say 'Fire!' into the headset and it will fire

[suso]

Actually, this was a joke about the old C64 game Echelon, which came with such a headset. Annoying gimmick. The game was Ok though.

Simple

[dreamchaser]

Simple. Most people here in the US can't think in Russian.

Re:Simple

[Anonymous Coward]

Or can't run, and haven't in so long they don't think it right. Or can only think of Pamela Anderson running.

Re:Simple

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe that's why IE still has such a high market share.

brain-wave inputs

[clone53421]

For instance, one can trigger the Alpha 2 meter by thinking of an expletive.

Oh, the possibilities... 8)

Re:brain-wave inputs

[bluefoxlucid]

Bitch ass cunt barbra streissand!

It doesn't work for me...

[kcbanner]

...they said I should remove my tin foil hat.

Yeah yeah yeah, that's great and all...

[FlyingSquidStudios]

But when do I get the 1/8" jack on the back of my neck?

Powerglove

[ottawanker]

So basically its a Powerglove for your head.

Re:Powerglove

[Anonymous Coward]

Technically, that would make it the Powerhat.

What a twist!

[brouski]

I hear OCZ has a new twist on brain waves.

Re:What a twist!

[MarkusQ]

Proud member of the American Non Sequitur Society. We might not make much sense, but boy do we love pizza!

Why is it always pizza? I've been seeing you guys for twenty years, and it's always been pizza. If you were really into non sequiturs you could factor out the trade winds and integrate with respect and courage till the cows came and went. If you get my estoppal.

--MarkusQ

Easy to defeat such a player

[jamesh]

It would be too easy to defeat a player using one of these. Simply flash up a picture of a naked chick and all brain activity will cease as another body part will take over the 'thinking', and this device won't be able to pick anything up anymore.

Re:Easy to defeat such a player

[name*censored*]

Why do you think porn sprays are banned in most TF2/CS servers?

Re:Easy to defeat such a player

[kiddygrinder]

That's where the secondary interface kicks in.

Re:Easy to defeat such a player

[clark0r]

this is why i play using a girls name ;) it's the tiny advantages that count :) that split second can give you the time to aim and shoot!

Re:Easy to defeat such a player

[Anonymous Coward]

So you're why my ass hurts after that date with Qu4k3g0dd3ss...

Re:Easy to defeat such a player

[BigJClark]

The list of which co-incides perfectly with servers I don't play on.

100 ms

[Ai Olor-Wile]

"Unless you're Fatal1ty, you probably don't care too much about shaving 100 ms off your reaction times, and you probably have plenty of fun with your mouse and keyboard, gamepad, or Wii-mote already."

I hate to break it to this guy, but 100 ms is a very, very long time in most FPS games!

Re:100 ms

[ruinevil]

Like three frames in TV...?

Re:100 ms

[icegreentea]

That's quite a lot. 100ms of lag is very noticeable in almost any FPS and even some RTS games (you can easily pick out 100ms lag in a Starcraft game). Widening the field a bit, many fighting games have timing down to one or two frames (as in, in order to block a certain attack, you have to complete another move within a few frames of the attack animation). Going back to FPS, say you have a rocket blasting at you (UT2k4, TF2, Halo, whatever). Say it takes maybe 300ms for the missile to hit you from the moment you see it, and you need to hit jump 100-50ms before impact to survive. With zero lag, you have 200ms to start (human reaction time to visual averages around 200ms). So you can pull it off fairly consistently. You have 100ms of lag, and now its just impossible.

Re:100 ms

[BalorTFL]

Well put. Expanding on that, very few serious gamers are running at 30fps on the PC. At a more-plausible 60-120fps, you're looking at 6-12 frames elapsing in that 100ms period. From my experience practicing on the original UT with Godlike bots at 180% speed or higher (it wasn't designed to handle CPU's that dynamically frequency scale), most kills are scored before you're even fully conscious of the enemy's presence. In fast-paced gameplay situations like that, it takes much less than 100ms to make the difference between winning the match and being practically shut out.

Admittedly, console games are much slower-paced than PC shooters, largely due to the less-precise aiming that a gamepad brings. But even there, as anyone who has been in a shotgun duel in one of the Halo games can attest, an extra 100ms of lag in reflexes or network connection can be a game-breaker.

Re:100 ms

[Anonymous Coward]

Hardcore gamers use CRTs with 120Hz refresh rate. 100ms is 12 frames. Even LCD is 6 frames, but LCDs are laggy.

Re:100 ms

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't play FPS any more, I used to.

You have to anticipate, not react. Reaction is always slowest. Anticipation gives you the leading edge.

You can think of the Force and all that shit, but it's just a measure of how well you know what is likely to happen.

Re:100 ms

[digitac]

Damn LPBs!
In MY day we had 300ms ping times and LIKED IT!

experiments using gaming

[Strange Ranger]

It would be interesting to make it so only one color team, say blue, could always see splash porn on a bunch of servers, but red never could see it.

My wild bet is a trend to a "physical type" skill increase concurrent with a decrease in "teamwork" seen on the blue porn-viewing side. More vigilantism and lone-wolfism in blue.
Red would trend toward the "Poindexters", dodging more and advancing with teamwork. A total conjecture on my part.

I wonder what differences we would see in brain wave activity?

Gaming seems to have a lot to offer for research.

NIA step in the right direction

[Icy_Infinity]

Things like this aren't really that spectacular until v3 or v5. Once they have most of the bugs and kinks worked out from people using it and telling them, what sucks so much and just getting feedback in general will allow the later versions to greatly appeal to the regular Joe PC gamer or even Console gamers.

This being the first release of a completely new consumer category i really didn't expect much. More than likely we'll see other company's following through with there own brain wave scanner things, i think I've seen another on You-tube.

Any ways only buy this if you really really want to try out the latest and greatest... otherwise wait till next year or something, there probably be another model out with A-lot better spec's or even rewritten software (hopefully open-source cus that shit kicks ass).

I got your hybrid.... ;)

[UncleTogie]

One thing the NIA won't let you do is control mouse movements; the software only supports binding inputs to keystrokes. Since the "glance" meter only tracks the X axis to begin with, I doubt the NIA would be a useful mouse replacement even if OCZ implemented such a feature. You'll still have to use a good old mouse to look around in first-person shooters.

Seeing that at the end of the article almost nixed it for me... until I remembered seeing this recently and now wish I had the extra cash to see if it IS possible to use them in conjunction...

I will get this one for my dad...

[Anonymous Coward]

for 10 years after a brain stroke, he could only do eye blinking, minimal head turning and hand squeezing, though his mental is healthy as far as I can tell.

Perhaps I could make a software for communication for him with this thing---

Brain wave interface?

[suck_burners_rice]

Obligatory quote from Back to the Future: "Do you know what this means? It means that this damn thing doesn't work at all!"

That's great but

[t33jster]

If I have this device, I can no longer blame my crappy game play on my crappy hardware. Now I lose because I'm stupid. Move along. Nothing to see here.

Blink of an eye

[WilliamBaughman]

I've heard some people asking about the possibilities the NIA brings to people who have difficulty using mice or keyboards. The NIA does not replicate full mouse or keyboard functionality, but something that my classmates cooked up for a final project does: http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/courses/ee476/FinalProjects/s2008/xh33_jdm55_ww239/xh33_jdm55_ww239/index.html It's a mouse + keyboard that you wear on your head. It tracks eye movement and winks, allowing a user to direct a mouse pointer around the screen, click, and right-click. It also allows the user to switch into keyboard mode and (slowly) enter text. It connects via a pair of PS/2 connectors. It lacks the thought-activated rapid response of the NIA, but the fact that it worked at all really impressed me. For their demonstration (no video, sorry), one of the makers used it to open wordpad and type a short message. Very cool. Note: this is a simple copy + paste of a reply I made to new article.

Fear Factor?

[IonOtter]

This should make games like "Alone in the Dark", "Resident Evil" and "BioShock" a LOT harder.

Monster: "OOOGITY-BOOGITTY!"

Me: GYAAH!! OHSHITOHSHITWHERESTHEFIRECOMMAN*

Game: You have been eviscerated. Try again.

Needs Onboard DSP

[Doc Ruby]

On the user's PC, the NIA control software converts electrical potentials from the headband into usable input. Schuette explains that the software separates the different frequencies in these potentials using proprietary algorithms not unlike fast Fourier transforms. Running these algorithms on a continuously streaming flow of data can apparently hog some "serious CPU cycles," although we didn't see the control application eat up much more than 10-15% of our test rig's Core 2 Duo E6400.

A DSP that computes at 10-15% of a Core 2 Duo E6400 can't cost more than $20. The box that converts the headband's electrical signals into USB data should also process its own data into higher-level, usable symbols that doesn't eat up PC performance. Especially if the headband is going to hook a gamer's brain directly into the game, that extra 10-15% framerate is going to be necessary. Or all the headband players are going to be fat, bloody targets.

Leaving a "raw" mode on the box that sends the lowlevel raw sensed data to the PC is very valuable for developers who want to play around with the brain more closely. But as a product, I'd spend $20, or an extra $100, to get an extra 10-15% more juice out of my Pentium.

"Conductive nanofibers"?

[Man On Pink Corner]

According to OCZ Technology Development Director Michael Schuette's article on the subject, the sensors are made of a plastic injected with highly conductive nanofibers, which the NIA hardware uses to read electrical potentials from the user's forehead.

BS factor = 0.79 (WTF is a "conductive nanofiber"? This is the sort of terminology you use when you're trying to pull the nonconductive wool fibers over someone's eyes.)

On the user's PC, the NIA control software converts electrical potentials from the headband into usable input. Schuette explains that the software separates the different frequencies in these potentials using proprietary algorithms not unlike fast Fourier transforms. Running these algorithms on a continuously streaming flow of data can apparently hog some "serious CPU cycles," although we didn't see the control application eat up much more than 10-15% of our test rig's Core 2 Duo E6400.

BS factor = 0.998 (FFT-like DSP algorithms taking 15% of a Core 2 duo... on signals with a bandwidth of maybe 20 Hz at most? That kind of CPU load is sufficient to decode an ATSC DTV stream in real time.)

Conclusion: this device is probably a load of quackery, relying on its other sensors to make the user think it's reading "brain waves."

dupe...

[Anonymous Coward]

wtf this was posted a few weeks ago.

Rammifications...

[Solid Knight]

Deep creases and toned faces...

Neurofeedback

[Anonymous Coward]

Just to let everyone know, this is neurofeedback without a trained professional. The issue with this is it can cause some serious problems with your brain if not done properly. I wouldn't touch this device without a trained neurofeedback professional analyzing it to make sure you're not training your brain the wrong way.

Just add monkeys

[Geminii]

I want one of these, plus some continually learning software, plus one of those robot arms that were being plugged into monkey heads a while back.

Finally, humans will be able to use a mouse AND keep two hands on the keyboard, or develop the skill to scrape a dinner plate into a flip-top bin!

I like my idea better...

[Asphyxium001]

Just wait until we find some investors and unleash the Tourette's Helmet to the world! Utilizing patented scripting technology, no one will be able to stop you once you don this baby. If someone launches a rocket at you simply yell "CRAP!" and you'll dodge it instantly. Sniper taking pot shots at you? Simply yell "HOLY SHIT!" and you'll scramble and juke your way to safety. Incoming artillery strike? Simply yell "FUCK SHIT FUCK!!!" and you'll be out of harm's way in no time.

One similar on the ABC (Aust)

[GlennWaller1963]

[quote]Episode 21 - 25/06/2008

WMV  http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/tv/newinventors/vodcast/newinventors_2008_ep21.wmv
MP4  http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/tv/newinventors/vodcast/newinventors_2008_ep21.mp4
This special episode features new ideas on how to use your mind to control machines; drive blind but know the danger ahead; and fit men with a remote controlled contraceptive.[/quote]

This device seems easier to learn and interface with.

This episode shows a head set that enables the wearer to control objects via a computer.

The Compare was able to spin an object and make an object disappear on screen.

Cheers, Glenn

Libet Experiment

[Anonymous Coward]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Libet Another cool fact is that intention to act precedes consciousness of intention to act. Future brain interface devices could result in control signals doing what you want BEFORE you know that you want to do them. You could be an observer of your own conscious intentions :)