Posted 07.20.2012 at 1:13 pm
5 Comments
Mind Games
Ollie Bland
Few video games are more basic than Pong, but Charles Moyes and Mengxiang Jiang’s version is incredibly complex. The two Cornell University students built a custom electroencephalography (EEG) device so they could control the game’s onscreen paddle with their minds.
The alpha waves that EEG machines read are faint electrical signals; Moyes and Jiang ran the EEG readings through an amplification circuit to filter and boost the signals. The amplified readings are then digitized and sent over USB to a computer running the game.
Spiking alpha waves produced during relaxation move a player’s paddle up, and smaller waves, indicating concentration, move it down. The size of the waves determines how much the paddle moves.
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D13 -
While you have some good points, I see promising applications for this. I like to translate this from a mind connected to a game to a mind connected to a remote control (logistically, basically the same). If this remote was then interfaced with your house, appliances, and car, there would be no limit to what you could do. Unlock the door with your mind, turn on some music, use the bathroom then flush the toilet and turn on the sink with your mind. If you're connected to a remote then why not a "cell phone" or other device - do a Google search with your mind... answers to your questions could play audibly on your home speakers or be displayed on your tv.
Now lets say everyone has dozens of those quadcopters we keep seeing on PopSci - in 20 years they should be stable, cheap, available in different sizes, and with lots of added functionality. Have one copter open your fridge and bring you a beer, another one turn on the stove and a third grab a box of pasta from the pantry.
I see mind control technology as an inevitable evolution of humanity (assuming our survival of course). Our only limitation will be our own mental focus, unless other technology helps with that too. To D13s comment, hopefully people will embrace this technology's ability to enhance reality rather than create a new one.
I see this as a great therapy tool for people with anger issues! the game teaches you to relax on command to get the paddle to go up and concentrate to move down.This would help when feelings override common sense.
Contoria, you CAN get EEG Headsets for home use NOW. Check out MindWave Mobile (~$100. This is the one I have.) and eMotive's EPOC Neuroheadset (~$300). I'm not an affiliate of either, just someone who wants everyone to know about this technology, esp as it relates to enhanced meditation levels.