A couple of weeks ago in an article called Control Video Games With Your Mind, I mentioned the EPOC Neuroheadset from Emotiv that will allow users to control video games with thoughts, emotions, and facial movements. Another company called NeuroSky has a similar neuroheadset called Mindset in the works.
From what I can tell, NeuroSky's headset is not as complex as Emotiv's headset but they're working with a few other companies to incorporate accelerometer motion, eye-tracking and surround sound. NeuroSky's CEO, Stanley Yang, has mentioned other intriguing uses for the technology, such as controlling your cell-phone or MP3 player with your mind.
One big difference is that NeuroSky doesn't seem to have a software program that allows you to map game controls to headset detections, a feature already offered by Emotiv via their EmoKey software. I believe the mapping feature is going to set Emotiv's EPOC headset apart from the others because it means their headset can be used immediately with any existing PC games.
Without that feature, users will be forced to wait for …Continue reading about NeuroSky's Mindset neuroheadset
Before the end of this year, you'll be able to strap on a lightweight piece of headgear and control video games with nothing more than your thoughts. Emotiv's new EPOC neuroheadset brings us one step closer to Matrix-esque control over our environment. I can't wait to give this gadget a try.
Emotiv has also created software that allows you to map any keystroke pattern to a specific thought or emotion detection in the neuroheadset, meaning the EPOC can be used to control any PC game. Have you ever wanted to cast a spell, hit a homerun, or blast your alien enemies just by thinking about it? The technology to make it happen has finally arrived.
In a recent BBC News segment, Emotiv president Tan Le announced plans to release the EPOC later this year, just in time for the holiday season. If the headset works as well as they claim, it could forever change the gaming industry, and I'm sure it won't be long before other industries find innovative ways to make use of the product too.
Did I mention how much I can't wait to give this gadget a try?
I've been reading a new book called Left in the Dark by Tony Wright and Graham Gynn, and I'm only about 100 pages into the book but so far it has been a fascinating read. I'll be writing a review for my company's web site soon, but I wanted to post something here too because the book is so relevant to the theme of this site.
Tony Wright, one of the book's co-authors, broke the world record for sleep deprivation in May of this year as part of a personal experiment in left-brain/right-brain consciousness. For more than eleven days, he remained not only awake but fully coherent and active. He participated in interviews with reporters from local television news programs and radio stations, including ongoing video interviews with the BBC, right up until the end of the experiment. He also kept a daily diary, which was published on the BBC web site, and interacted with guests at the Studio Bar in Cornwall where the experiment took place. That kind of dedication to personal research always gets my attention, and it lends more credence to the theories explored in the book.
The first section of Left in the Dark discusses neurochemistry and the evolution of the brain — in simple explanations that are easily accessible to a layman — and posits a theory about the impact of a plant-based diet on the early development of the human brain. The authors also describe how our modern diet has negatively impacted our cognitive development, and examine the anthropological and spiritual repercussions in addition to the biological effects. The implications are so intriguing I was prompted to seriously consider returning to vegetarianism, which I'll post more about later this week in an article about nutrition and its effects on consciousness.
Left in the Dark also discusses the differences between the left and right hemispheres of the brain and their influence on states of consciousness, drawing examples from cases of savant syndrome, multiple personality disorder, and even hemispherectomy (the removal of one hemisphere of the brain). The book explores the right hemisphere's involvement in artistic functions, healing abilities, intuition, and transcendent experiences. The authors also imply that society's ongoing favor of the left hemisphere may prevent us from accessing our full potential, and in later chapters they include suggestions for restoring your own individual consciousness.
I'm eager to finish reading the book to learn more about the authors' theories about consciousness and personal evolution. I'll post a link here when the formal review is published on my company's web site, but in the meantime I recommend visiting Tony Wright's web site and ordering a copy of Left in the Dark for yourself.
I was reading an article about brainwave technology earlier today and clicked on the Google advertising link displayed next to the article. The list of ads that appeared prompted quite a chuckle.
Take a look at the third ad in the image below. Apparently, you can now shop for brain damage. And it's "aptly affordable".
Now check out the ad directly below that one. Would you want to learn anything about the brain or about improving your memory from someone who uses "ur" in place of "your" and writes "smarted" instead of "smarter" in a paid advertisement (or anywhere else, for that matter)?
