Thought-controlled computer games 'in shops this year'

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 12:04 PM on 18th July 2008

The headset had 16 sensors that measure brain activity to do onscreen tasks

The world's first thought-controlled computer game could be launched by the end of the year.

A new headset being developed by an Australian company may soon replace joysticks and Wii handles.

The EPOC headset has 16 sensors which measure electrical activity in the brain, allowing players to push and pull objects on a screen just by thinking.

Despite scepticism among some experts, Emotiv - the Sydney-based company behind the headset - claims it has carried out pre-release tests which show that the electroencephalography process works.

Emotiv co-founders Allan Snyder, a neuroscientist and former Cambridge University research fellow, and Tan Le are confident the technology can take gaming from the Wii to the next stage.

Tan Le said: 'This is the tip of the iceberg. There will be a convergence of gesture-based technology and the brain as a new interface - the Holy Grail is the mind.'

The theory behind the headset was predicted by Nintendo president Satoru Iwata at the video games industry's annual E3 conference.

He said: 'As soon as we think something in our brain, it will appear within a video game. You'll probably need to wear a kind of hat or helmet or something.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/art...shops-year.html

Looks pretty interesting...if it does come out I'll definitely be picking it up.

Edited July 20, 200817 yr by Big E

so we're now plugging ourselves into the matrix? no thanks

The technology really does work ... but this pushes the ethical boundary a little.

My video game would be a cross between Grand Theft Auto and porn.

Haha. This is why the world is going obese. We are trying to figure out new ways to play games because pushing buttons and moving joysticks is just too hard.

what happens when playing a game when you get distracted and look in another direction and\or start thinking of something else...

Our brain processes information faster than you can visually show reaction to from someone else's viewpoint.

so we're now plugging ourselves into the matrix? no thanks

I'll be taking the red pill.

Holy $hit I saw this thing on the news tonight. $300 seems a bit too low for technology like this.

I wonder if it can cause cancer...

Haha. This is why the world is going obese. We are trying to figure out new ways to play games because pushing buttons and moving joysticks is just too hard.

BULLSHIT , kids are getting fatter cause parents are looking for an easy way out. It's a hell of a lot easier to plop a kid down and hand them a controller, than it is to actually go outside with them and throw a ball.

so we're now plugging ourselves into the matrix? no thanks

Red pill damn it!!!

The technology really does work ... but this pushes the ethical boundary a little.

My video game would be a cross between Grand Theft Auto and porn.

Mine would probably be a mix of Contra, Gran Turismo and porn. Shooting the spray gun while getting 180mph road head sounds like fun to me.