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Thought-driven game controller
electricitylikesme
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Australian company planning to release EEG driven game controller
I'm not actually sure how well this is going to work and it's a little steep in price but the concept certainly sounds pretty damn neat (and because I tend to blow money on novelty if it's at all positive I'll probably end up getting one).
The basic idea is that the system functions somewhat like an EEG machine in that it measures electrical potentials across your head like an EEG does, and can then be calibrated to execute certain commands based on those. I'm skeptical how well this could work in practice, but in theory I can imagine some decent uses - it's all going to depend I guess on how hard you have to "think" in order to set if off, and how easy it is to set it off unintentionally.
Still - the obvious thing I'd like to do is hook it up to a Mechwarrior game and try playing with my own neuro-helmet.
I'm not actually sure how well this is going to work and it's a little steep in price but the concept certainly sounds pretty damn neat (and because I tend to blow money on novelty if it's at all positive I'll probably end up getting one).
The basic idea is that the system functions somewhat like an EEG machine in that it measures electrical potentials across your head like an EEG does, and can then be calibrated to execute certain commands based on those. I'm skeptical how well this could work in practice, but in theory I can imagine some decent uses - it's all going to depend I guess on how hard you have to "think" in order to set if off, and how easy it is to set it off unintentionally.
Still - the obvious thing I'd like to do is hook it up to a Mechwarrior game and try playing with my own neuro-helmet.
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Also, this immediately made me think of those punk kids in the 80's cafe from Back To the Future II.
"You mean you have to use your hands?"
"That's like a baby's toy!"
Way to go crazy dude, some day I can say this for real.
[Edit] In an ideal world though, it is epic that I'm seeing this in my lifetime.
...seriously?
You shouldn't read books. They may read you back.
3ds friend code: 2981-6032-4118
Um, it uses EEG technology. I promise you it absolutely 100% cannot damage your brain.
EDIT: Also, these sort of things have been around for ages and ages and ages. I remember reading that the air force was experimenting with this sort of thing as a new control method for a few jets back in 96. It shares a lot of the same problems that the wiimote has - imprecise control.
Still neat to see the technology that I've read about for so long finally get released in some sort of tangible format, but unless a major console adopts it, it won't go anywhere. Games built for 3rd party devices have abysmal track records.
I know, I know, I sound crazy. I just feel weird about stuff like this still. Anyway, how does EEG work anyway? Is it that tech that mostly reads facial muscle movements instead of real neural activity?
wiki to the rescue
hahaha, this made me belly laugh.
I dont really want that. I'll stick to using my hands thanks.
Yeah that's right.
I bet you will! Wooo-wee!
OH SHIT ITS ALREADY HERE!
Good for the disabled, though.
Pun intended?
:winky:
3ds friend code: 2981-6032-4118
to be fair.
The power glove used motion control and sucked ass.
I'm fairly sure we have a pretty good way of doing it now.
Holy shit, that thing is awesome. Kinda creepy with that buzzing noise (I kept thinking about some sort of insect) but awesome nonetheless.
We need to start thinking about this shit now.
Not any more!
That being said, it seems to me that this sort of device is more of a complementary input peripheral, with its greatest potential being used in conjunction with other physical inputs. I dont know about you but "just sitting there" interacting exclusively mentally with a game doesn't sound very engaging at all. Perhaps that is because it is such an abstract concept that it is hard for me to formulate a reliable opinion of it without actually experiencing it.
Now, something that could read my mind, physical actions, and simulate the touch, feel and resistance of real world objects. That would be gold.
In any event 300 bux sounds like a reasonable gamble.
Gamjee's Random Rambling @ FriendFeed
yeah that's the coolest robot thing I've seen in awhile, the way it balanced itself on ice was frigging amazing.
And when that dude kicked it was pretty awesome too. Also, the way it jumped over that one black strip was pretty cool too.
Critical Failures - Havenhold Campaign • August St. Cloud (Human Ranger)
Sorry for getting this thread more off topic
:winky:
Since you're posting here, you've probably already experienced it plenty of times. Whenever you get deeply enough into a game, the controls seem to effectively disappear, and it feels like you're controling the game directly with your will, even though your hands are still moving.
Handheld EMP devices. No muss, no fuss, and no possibility of friendly fire, either. (unless you have a pacemaker)
Or we can blot out the sun, I bet that'd work.
They'll never find other power sources.
Welcome to the desert of the real.
Critical Failures - Havenhold Campaign • August St. Cloud (Human Ranger)
The early trials are worth watching as well.
Haha! It took me 3/4 of the video before i realised what the hell was going on!
Once the researchers felt the system was calibrated enough they disconnected the joystick and used measurements from the electrode. It worked! Though they were tracking muscle movement impulses (the monkey was still using the joystick, not knowing it was unplugged) rather than facial movements and other junk.
I'm doing a presentation on transhumanism next month, and I'd like to be a real jerk and have some cyber-neurological thing strapped to my head to present it with.
Actually, here's part of the presentation (easy to tell I'm a gamer by watching it), as it's somewhat relevant (haven't done a section on neural prosthesis yet though):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpj21AQ-M3g
and yea, I'll fix the spelling errors later.
And for the near future they're likely to be far more efficient than any EEG based system.
The whole point of a thought based system would be that it would be effortless and precise, but EEG stuff I've heard about has been the exact opposite. IE both imprecise and requiring mind-bending, migraine inducing, zenlike concentration to actually work at all.
Naw, it's an emergent tech. Neural implants are more efficient.
So until they figure out a way to mimic reflexive thought, these devices will always be slower and less precise than a physical input. Little more than a novelty.