The video games you play with your mind – The Week
Companies like NeuroSky Inc., and Emotiv Systems are developing consumer-grade headsets that read the brain’s electrical signals to control onscreen action
POSTED ON MAY 31, 2012, AT 7:43 AMA new head-mounted controller allows users to control the video games they play with their brainwaves — and only at a cost of $130. Photo: neurosky.comSEE ALL 52 PHOTOS
The gaming controller of the future won’t have joysticks or buttons; it’ll wrap around your head. A number of companies like San Jose-based NeuroSky are developing affordable, consumer-ready controllers that takes cues from the electrical signals in a wearer’s brain to dictate onscreen action. Here, a concise guide to the new smart technology:
How does it work?
The head-mounted controller reads the brain’s electrical activity much in the same way that an electroencephalograph, or EEG, works. It then beams that information via BlueTooth to a connected smartphone. NeuroSky, Inc., which has made news with aStar Wars-based children’s toy called Force Trainer that let children suspend a ping pong ball in the air using a fan and their brainwaves, sells a mind-control headset called MindWave Mobile.
