Thought powered game controller - Emotiv releases a "mindreader"

Emotiv systems, a pioneer in brain computer interface technology has now launched the Emotiv Development Kit.

(EDK)

"With the EDK, developers will be able to create games that respond to a player’s emotions and allow players to control their characters’ expressions and manipulate objects using only the power of their brain."

This is some really cool technology and I think it will be the first of many, progressively more advanced methods of computer input devices and methodology.

Eventually I anticipate this sort of tech will make the argument between Qwerty, Dvorak, Xpert, Colemak, etc layouts completely redundant.

Effectively this technology uses a range of data gatherers.

the main part of the kit is the Headset,  which has multiple sensors that can detect various sorts of brain activity.


this includes concious and unconcious thoughts, along with different emotions,

"For example, they can enable players to move an object in a game without the use of a keyboard or joystick, make their character smile when they smile, or require that a player stays calm in order to ensure his or her character remains undiscovered in a stealth game. As a result, developers can create a more interactive, immersive, personal experience than is currently possible."

I find this sort of technology really exciting, although its a bit unnerving, if at this stage they are able to detect when you are thinking specific things - eventually it will get to the point where all your thoughts can be read.

this bodes for good and for ill, it would make work difficult - should the old fable about men thinking about a certain thing every 6 seconds (or whatever it is).

however I'm sure that would be filterable.

but more concerning - what about the next generation of  "Windows Genuine Advantage" will it show images that will cause you to reveal if you have ever pirated software?

the implications for how far this technology could reach are limitless - it does sound big brother-ish and quite fantastical and even conspiracy - theorist,

but at the end of the day, from what all our thoughts and emotions are a complex system of electrical signals in the brain, so we should in theory be able to eventually read all of that directly.

I am cautiously enthusiastic about this technology, as a geek, a developer and a gamer, the ability to control my computer with thoughts is a dream come true.

I'm sure we will see more of this in the news very soon.

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