Mind Games

Hasn’t there been at least a couple of times you wished you had the power to move things with your mind? However no matter how hard you concentrated the person in front of you kept talking relentlessly. Gamers will soon be given the power to move things with their minds…in a game world at least.

Emotiv Systems has developed a neural-processing technology that lets players control game environments with their minds alone. Sensors in the helmet pick up on electric signals from the brain. The system software analyzes the signals and then wirelessly relays what it detects to a receiver, which is plugged into the USB port of a game console or PC.

Just as motion control has opened up a whole new world of interaction and gaming experiences, so could thought control gaming lead to a whole new host of innovative titles such a Drunk Auto Theft or Who Will Be The Next American Jedi?

The prototype device looks sort of like a smaller version of Professor X’s Cerebro and is designed to take video games to the next level. As with handwriting or voice recognition, the machine itself has a learning curve, improving as it better understands what the player is thinking, but there is also a skill level involving visualization on the part of the gamer.

The system seems to work best with children and those open to believing in their capability, according to Randy Breen, Emotiv's chief product officer.

"We have had a number of kids try the equipment, and they often get the best results right away," Breen said. "Part of that is because the kid doesn't have the same kind of barriers as an adult does. Lots of kids can fantasize about moving a cup and believe it."

Adults, on the other hand, are more restrictive in their thinking and therefore have a obstacle to believing that they can do something out of the ordinary, Breen said.

I have to admit that I find it amusing that Emotiv Systems has focused they’re first mind control product for gamers instead of some nobler cause such as helping quadriplegics or even enabling us to translate cat thoughts. I for one would love to know why they choose to sit on the laps of people who are allergic to them.

Cats thoughts will have to wait as Emotiv is not yet ready to announce any partnerships. However they did announce that they are developing its technology for use in other industries, including medicine, security, market research, and interactive television.

Nowadays everybody is talking about Xbox and Nintendo Wii’s revolutionary controller, but what may be on everybody’s mind in the near future is the Emotiv System. However… lets not get too carried away, the last thing I want is a Demolition Man kind of Vir-Sex.