Random Acts of Mind by Dones

I classified this as ‘old news’ because I’m a little late to the game: I’m referencing an IGN article from February’s Game Developers Conference. However, this is big stuff, and I wanted to put my thoughts out there, as always.

Emotiv Systems out of San Francisco has been developing a human-machine interface called the EPOC that enables the user to command a computer simply with thought power. This is potentially going to be the replacement for keyboard & mouse or an xbox controller that my children or grandchildren will grow up with.  It’s actually here now, though, as they’re about to start selling these little headsets for $300 a pop, including a game and some utility software.

What prompted me to blog (aside from just the coolness of all that) is the way IGN described the experience as what ‘using the Force’ would feel like.  You visualize a boulder lifting into midair, and an onscreen boulder rises in response. It also senses your moods and your facial expressions, and it could probably tell you what you’d like for dinner.

In purchasing the headgear* you get a chat client, a game, and a way to interact with your music & photos based on your mood. Not sure how all that will work, but you also get a little utility that lets you interface the EPOC with regular PC games & software. What brings this all together is that The Force Unleashed is a soon-to-be-released Jedi game that lets you wreak havoc as a Force-wielding badass.  Imagine actually using your mind to play that game, and bring down a Star Destroyer with your brain! Couple this with a hacked Wimote and you’re a Jedi in your own mind! Of course, I already am, but now I could prove it.

For video click here

For IGN article click here

For Emotiv Systems focus your thoughts on this text

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*I’ll put my skeptical hat on now and ask: Does it seem weird that you don’t have to shave your head for this interface to pick up your brain waves? What if all this is accomplished with a camera, a motion sensor, and clever programming? Any neuroscientists out there who’d like to share their thoughts?

This entry was posted on Friday, August 22nd, 2008 at 10:42 am and is filed under Internet, Tech, Video. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.