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NIA Brain-Computer Interface, Mind-Control Gaming

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the and-it-melts-your-brain dept.

MojoKid writes "Sunnyvale-based manufacturer OCZ Technology has laid claim to being the first to bring a 'brain-computer' interface to the retail market and they have aimed it squarely at the gamer. The device is called the NIA, which is an acronym that stands for Neural Impulse Actuator. Instead of buttons, sticks, gyroscopes or motion sensors, it reads the body's natural bio-signals and translates them into commands that can be used to control PC games. This evaluation of the NIA shows the product actually works as advertised, with a little practice. It can, in some cases, offer reaction times superior to standard controllers, based on faster trigger response time, and the difference is quite noticeable and immediate."

8 of 79 comments (clear)

  1. First post! by Plantain · · Score: 4, Funny

    I was using an NIA interface so I beat you all :o

    --
    No, but I did throw granola at a deaf person once
  2. Dupe? Tripe? Havent I heard this several times now by Tmack · · Score: 5, Informative
    Like here and here and here? Maybe this brain scan thing is picking up echos and posting them to /.

    tm

    --
    Support TBI Research: http://www.raisinhope.org
  3. Re:Dupe? Tripe? Havent I heard this several times by martinw89 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Yes, by now any semi regular reader knows that the NIA can be faster, but it takes tons of training and you can't just magically think "shoot that guy" and have the device point a gun at someone and shoot. This is just another review that got its hands on some buzz hardware and said the same things the other sites are saying.

  4. Just remember... by LinuxKitten · · Score: 5, Funny

    You must think in Russian. You cannot think in English and then transpose.

    1. Re:Just remember... by spazdor · · Score: 5, Funny

      I am insensitive, you Russian clod!

      --
      DRM: Terminator crops for your mind!
  5. mind reading and time travel? by the_B0fh · · Score: 5, Funny

    Wow! With the recent report about the brain making decisions up to seven seconds before you know it, this means you can frag your opponents before they even show up.

  6. Counter it with pr0n... by stoicfaux · · Score: 4, Funny

    In games like Team Fortress 2, you can spray an image on an in-game wall. In theory, if you spray a distracting image (not necessarily pornographic,) you could seriously throw off this controller.

    Subliminal images might be fun also...

  7. is this realy a "brain interface" by cbnewman · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This device appears to be measuring electical potentials generated by muscle groups in the face firing. I would think that a "brain interface" (or mind-machine interface or direct neural interface or brain-computer interface) at the very least should be driven directly by cortical neuronal activity (i.e. EEG, MEG), not the end muscle group.

    This seems like more of a gamer's application of electromyography