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Brain-Control Gaming Headset Launching Dec. 21

Posted by Soulskill on from the oh-hey-it's-real dept.

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.

11 of 112 comments (clear)

  1. Could be a half-decent toy, if priced well by EdZ · · Score: 4, Informative

    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.

    1. Re:Could be a half-decent toy, if priced well by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      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.

    2. Re:Could be a half-decent toy, if priced well by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I have the development release and the electrodes use cotton-like "wicks", which are wetted with saline. While I am not familiar with other EEG devices, this does not require an external amplifier, and is connected wirelessly to a USB dongle.

  2. Re:Conductant? by Voulnet · · Score: 5, Interesting

    You don't need conductive gel at all. My graduation project was using EEG to allow disabled people to control a PC, and we did not use conductive gel, at all. Conductivity was very good.

  3. Re:just bad by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 4, Informative

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

    Don't shoot the messenger, man.

  4. Re:Obligatory by declain · · Score: 5, Funny

    Of course. Since it's gaming device, Linux enthusiast are their main market.

  5. Misleading by Jeffrey_Walsh+VA · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Should be brain-controlled

  6. Other Applications by smitty777 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'm a bit surprised (or maybe not) that the focus of the discussions has been on the gaming aspect of the device. I know it's not perfect, there are a lot of bugs to work out, and it's been around for a while, but I can see tremendous application and potential for this technology. This could provide quadriplegics with access to software, allow another interaction pathway for those with their hands occupied on critical tasks (pilots, surgeons, police).

    I wonder how much the hand gestures were required to move the objects? I'm sure it's a way to "cognitively prime the pump" at this point, but could it be done without the gestures? Or could someone learn to do it without them?

    --
    "Before God we are all equally wise - and equally foolish"
    Albert Einstein
  7. As Penny Arcade put it... by Dr.+Manhattan · · Score: 3, Funny
    "Emotiv's Epoc mind controller device thing doesn't allow you to control other people's minds, which I think is a disappointment to everyone." (Here.)

    There are also... power issues.

    --
    PHEM - party like it's 1997-2003!
  8. Re:Bypassing normal I/O mechanisms of the brain by RockoTDF · · Score: 3, Interesting

    He isn't talking about some evil mind control, what he is saying is that when you learn and use your brain, connections change. Therefore, if you are trying to get the "up" motion on the keyboard down, there will be a change in your brain activity that will be reinforced by getting it right. So yes, he is right that using this device will change how things are working, but such change would be no different than learning to type in Dvorak or using a different controller for the first time. Nothing dangerous.

    --
    There is more to science than physics!

    www.iomalfunction.blogspot.com
  9. Lawsuit coming in 3...2.... by thePowerOfGrayskull · · Score: 3, Interesting
    I looked into creating such a system a few years ago. After a bit of research, I decided I wasn't that brave -- certainyl the technology existed even then to do it, but here's what I ran into: requiring a person to learn (via biofeedback) to force certain brainwave patterns, and to repeat them often and for long periods of time, is not necessarily a Good Idea. What research I could find at the time showed that there may be potentially negative effects (inducing epilepsy was one such, in people who had no prior history). But more than that, I mostly found a huge unknown - there were few real studies on how this could affect a person.

    Until such a device can interpret thoughts as we have them, without requiring the user to "think" certain patterns... I think I'll hold off on buying mine.