Could mind control be the next big thing for
technology and apple?
With rumors of the upcoming Apple iTV
potentially including wireless gaming, a recent feature story from The Wall
Street journal caught my eye and made me ponder where Apple may lead us. The
article, titled ‘mind-controlled videogames become reality’, explores a new
technology that will allow us to control real-world and digital objects with
just our thoughts. For now, it appears to be geared towards gaming and home
entertainment.
With
rumors of the upcoming Apple iTV potentially including wireless gaming, a
recent feature story from The Wall Street journal caught my eye and made me
ponder where Apple may lead us.
The technology comes from a company based
in San jose, CA called NeuroSky Inc. This company has products already
available for sale, including a MindWave headset for education. You can
purchase this headset from the company’s website at a price of $99.95.
The headset measures brainwave signals and
monitors student’s attention levels when they’re doing math work, for example.
A total of 10 apps are included as part of the package. Some offer
entertainment while others are designed purely for educational purposes.
The
MindWave Mobile
Another soon to be available product from
NeuroSky, which may be more interesting to Apple fans, is called the MindWave
Mobile. This is a headset for mobile users and is available from the company’s
website for $129.95. it is actually already compatible with iDevices, as well
as Android devices. It will probably come pre-packed with its own apps, as well
as support separate apps available from the App Store.
This is headset designed for
Electroencephalography (EEG) recording. Its purpose includes tasks such as
gaming, brain training and education. It is based on a bio-sensor chipset
called the TGAM and serves as an introduction to brain-computer interfaces (BCIs).
You can check out a list of supported apps
for the headsets from the company website’s ‘Applications’ section. These apps
are varied and aimed at different users. One app, called ‘Mind Labirynth,’ is a
puzzle game that lets you control a Mayan priest, named Chac, with your brain.
It isn’t available for iOS however, but it is for Mac OSX. It is a bit
confusing just by reading the descriptions to see which app is compatible with
which headset. On the other hand, the iTunes descriptions list compatibility.
The
PLX Xwave
For example, an app called W.I.L.D is
available on the App Store from the company at a price of $4.99. compatibility
listed includes MindWave Mobile and PLX Xwave support. It is also a universal
app. W.I.L.D. is designed to train your concentration and relaxation skills,
according to the app description. Some examples of the puzzles contained within
this app include saving a burning building or feeding a hungry baby alien.
It seems that MindWave Mobile isn’t the
only product on the market offering iDevice owners mind control and brain
training compatibility with apps. The PLX Xwave headset comes from a company
called PLX Devices and more information can be obtained from the company’s
website about its products.
The Xwave can be purchased for $89.95 and
the product description seems to suggest it has similar potential to that of
the MindWave Mobile.
Xwave
‘You will be able to control and float
objects in video games by simply thinking about it, or train your mind to focus
and relax on command,’ it reads.
The MindWave Mobile headset, however, comes
with a feature called ‘MyndPlay’ that should make it really standout. This
feature is referred to as an interactive movie experience, and a video is
available to let you sample some of the action. It actually promises to allow
you to control video playback with thoughts alone, changing the scenes as your
mood changes.
According to the product description, it is
“similar to Edward Packard’s ‘Choose your own adventure’ game books, MyndPlay
allows users to adjust various scenes and outcomes within the movie, simply by
focusing or relaxing when required.”
The WSJ report pointed out that NeuroSky
has also about 1,700 software developers working with these headsets and most
are working on apps for the MindWave Mobile headset. This impressive number
belies the strong support the industry is showing for this company and its
technology.
What this technology can offer
Imagine being able to read iBooks with just
the thought of your mind. Imagine being able to combine talking to your iDevice
using Siri with being able to hear Siri talk back to you telepathically. Siri,
by itself, has been quite revolutionary and has changed the user experience as
well as the expectations of consumers of electronics. However, it still doesn’t
address everything of every user.
Apple
– Siri
There are people that are blind of deaf
that can’t get the full benefit of Siri or be able to use Siri at all. There
are people who cannot even use an iDevice at all. In the future, they all may
be able to use these devices in one capacity or another with the help of aides
and technologies relying on brain power alone, such as is the case with
NeuroSky’s advancements.
‘The gadgets translate brain waves into
digital information and beam it wirelessly to computers or other devices,’ the
WSJ reported. ‘So far the headsets are confined to mostly digital interfaces –
videogames and movies whose plots can be altered with the mind – although in some
cases real-world objects have been used, like a pair of catlike ears that move
depending on a person’s mood.’
The report did indicate the technology is
still in ‘its infancy’ though. This suggests the it will probably be a while
before Apple can even begin to implement it into the iTV, which hasn’t even
launched yet.
