If there is one technology that I am backing really hard for the future it is Augmented Reality, and with Augmented Reality there is a host of applications that are available today in the market. Well one of the break off technologies from the emergence and popularity of such applications is definitely going to be input interfaces. Gesture based inputs like Minority report are being trialled at the moment but we can safely assume that with the advancements that are happening with Mind Control technologies, that would be the next big thing. What do I mean by Mind Control ? Well the human brain receives and sends signals based on electrical signals that it receives through the nervous system. If we could tap into that resource then we would be able to pick up the thoughts of the person and have actions based on it. René Descartes said “I think therefore I am”, this use of technology will take that quote much further.

Thus was the theory so far. Doctors and Scientists have been working on EEG to check brain patterns of the subjects, to know if they are thinking straight or have any mental disorders. But now another set of Engineers and Scientists have worked out headsets that can read brain input and preform functions on computers. The Brain activity being the basis of input, this would enhance the experience of gaming, doing mundane tasks on the computer. Imagine having to shoot that game bot faster than your hands to respond, or tweet about your latest thought without having to type it out. Well here is a look at what is available today :

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The Emotiv EPOC headset is being marketed as both a gaming device and as an aid for the disabled. It has 14 EEG electrodes to monitor brain activity, a gyroscope so it knows where you noggin is in space and packs a li-ion battery for 12 hours of use. It is also wireless, and charges via USB. The headset reads brain activity related to facial movements, and uses this to infer your emotional state and intentions. This is then translated in software to control various applications, from games to photo viewers to an on-screen keyboard. And of course, any application or machine could be made to do anything with the input, from steering a wheelchair to, I guess, firing the weapons systems on a stolen, cold-war era Soviet fighter plane.

Nokia seems to be working out this as well, and this I had written about in the post about Nokia and Augmented Reality. With many more companies soon to enter this market space, it is a sort of a first come first serve with regards to getting there for Emotiv. I was under the impression that this technology is really something of a breakthrough, when I fumbled into the website of Mattel, the makers of Hot wheels and Barbie. They have just launched a game that uses mind control, yes a game. This is the description on the MindFlex Game website.

Whenever you concentrate, you generate brainwave activity. Mindflex uses a variation of EEG technology to “read” the intensity of these brainwaves via sensors positioned on your forehead and ears. These sensors do not generate or interfere with brainwaves; they only read what is already there.

Once the Mindflex headset recognizes your brainwaves, it transmits a signal to a fan within the console. This fan controls ball levitation. Your brainwaves, in turn, control the power of the fan. The more effectively you concentrate, the stronger the fan blows and the higher the ball floats. Relaxing your mind relaxes the fan’s airflow, which lowers the ball.

Technology after all cannot be just for fun and games, there are ingenious developers world wide who have taken the concept with both arms and have made use of this technology in more novel ways, like controling an electric wheelchair with only the power of your thoughts. The mind controlled wheelchair for Paraplegics, Quadroplegics, Cerebral palsy, and MS sufferers etc is now a reality! Check out the video here below of it working, different people with different implementation.

The  Makers of Emotiv said the headset could detects more than 30 different expressions, emotions and actions. They include excitement, meditation, tension and frustration; facial expressions such as smile, laugh, wink, shock (eyebrows raised), anger (eyebrows furrowed); and cognitive actions such as push, pull, lift, drop and rotate (on six different axis).  If you would like to know how the headset actually works see below :

• Sensors respond to the electrical impulses behind different thoughts; enabling a user’s brain to influence gameplay directly
• Conscious thoughts, facial expressions, and non-conscious emotions can all be detected
• Gyroscope enables a cursor or camera to be controlled by head movements
• The headset uses wi-fi to connect to a computer

The first time that I had seen such a technology being used was in the 1983 movie Fire Fox, in which Clint Eastwood, flew Firefox, an airplane that had thought-controlled weapons. That was a movie (based on a pretty good book), and the plane cost millions of dollars. Now for a $300 Headset or a $400 Game you can experience Mind Control for yourself. If this is not signs of times changing then wonder what is ?