Sometimes the technologies for commercial and free virtual worlds are like the Saiyans of Dragon Ball Z. There should always be something more powerful – no one can be outdone. A few days ago we brought up here the technology which allows people with motor disabilities to use eye contact in order to participate in virtual worlds.
Enter the mind control neuro-headset peripheral of Emotiv.
Yes, you read it right: mind control. It uses brain waves in order to make actions possible in a video game setting. All of a sudden, the eye contact peripheral seems challenged.
Here is the aim of the guys behind Emotiv, from their own words:
“Our mission is to create the ultimate interface for the next-generation of human-machine interaction, by evolving the interaction between humans and electronic devices beyond the limitations of conscious interface. Emotiv has created technologies that allow machines to take both conscious and non-conscious inputs directly from your mind.”
This technology goes hand in hand with the Project Natal gaming peripheral. Although Project Natal also uses eye contact as a primary source of data, it aims to revolutionize the way gaming is performed these days.
The primary bread and butter of the Emotiv headset are neurons, or more specifically, the interactions of these neutrons. “It picks up electrical activity from the brain and sends wireless signals to a computer,” said Tan Le, president of US/Australian firm Emotiv.
Another feature of this headset is the ability to manipulate a virtual environment naturally and through intuition – in the same manner as that of Project Natal.
How can this possibly work? Apparently, electrical impulses are released every time neurons interact. The Emotiv neuro-headset reads these movements and with about 100 billion nerve cells in the brain, then there are a lot for the neuro-headset to go about.
What are the probable implications of this technology? Well, avatars can have more authentic facial expressions when you come to think of it. Small details such as winks and smiles can be detected and can be rendered into avatars.
“If you laughed or felt happy after killing a character in a game then your virtual buddy could admonish you for being callous,” says Ms. Le.
And regarding versatility the headset has a gyroscope for more range of motion and USB capabilities for a wide range of accessibility for computers. The Emotiv neuro-headset is slated for a $299 price range and is said to detect about thirty various expressions, sentiments and actions.
This can even be useful for businesses and education purposes in order to increase the realism of the virtual environment. More importantly, entertainment in commercial virtual world can go up a notch with the added features of the neuro-headset. It is no longer a case of being able to move or customize avatars using the keyboard or the mouse, real emotions can be translated into the virtual environment. Excitement, anger, happiness, and the likes can be finally experienced inside virtual worlds.
This is a breakthrough technology which when given about ten years to integrate with societies, the neuro-headset can be anticipated to become a staple in virtual entertainment, education and commerce in the future. Our hopes are high that this technology can be appreciated more quickly by everyday people like you and me.
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