Brain-Control Gaming Headset Launching Dec. 21

An anonymous reader writes "Controlling computers with our minds may sound like science fiction, but one Australian company claims to be able to let you do just that. The Emotiv device has been garnering attention at trade shows and conferences for several years, and now the company says it is set to launch the Emotiv EPOC headset on December 21. PC Authority spoke to co-founder Nam Do about the Emotiv technology and its potential as a mainstream gaming interface." One wonders what kind of adoption they expect with a $299 price tag.

Comments

Could be a half-decent toy, if priced well

[EdZ]

Looks like it actually is approaching a reasonable number of electrodes, unlike other the bunch of other 'brain control' devices (a pair of electrodes on your forehead does not an effective EEG make). Still too few for any sort of fine control, but you might just be able to get 2d bang-bang direction control going with a large amount of practice.
Of course, if it costs something ridiculous, then it's probably easier to make your own.

Re:Could be a half-decent toy, if priced well

[Anonymous Coward]

As someone who has done research int brain-computer interfaces, most BCI devices created for games are really measuring EMG, which is electrical noise created by muscle movements. A pair of electrodes on your forehead can only really effectively measure small muscle movements in your forehead.

On the other hand, this looks like a regular 16 electrode cap with one ground and one reference.

I wonder how they bypassed the need for gel...

By the way, $299 is actually a fairly reasonable price for a good cap. I wonder what the biological amplifier costs, though. If it is included in the price (or within the cap) then $299 really is a very good price for such a device.

Re:just bad

[BadAnalogyGuy]

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44438000/gif/_44438417_headset_info416.gif

Don't shoot the messenger, man.