It sounds like something straight from the pages of science fiction. A women puts on a sensor-studded Helmet and, using her brain alone, is able to play a video game,performing actions including opening doors and picking up objects.
Two Australians are at the fore-front of bringing this technology to the world.Unveiled recently at the game Developers Conference in San Francisco, technology company Emotiv’s ‘brain computer interface’ reportedly allows users a new-generation gaming experience.
The interface helmet, developed by former Young Australian of the year and Emotiv president Tan Le and her partner Nam Do, also picks up facial expressions and emotions of users and displays them on the screen. The gameing system is one of a range of brain-operated devices that will become available including computers and wheelchairs.
The system works by detecting electrical activity generated by brain cells, known as
neurons, using a process known as electroencephalography. The interface captures and wirelessly about bain activity to a processor, allowing interaction with video games.
The more a person uses the technology, the more adept the system becomes at recognizing the person’s intentions and emotions. After a series of training sessions, most
people are able to move objects in a virtual world through force of will.