Emotiv EPOC - Reading Your Mind as You Game
August 31, 2008 7:49 pmI wonder how this has escaped my attention up to now: the Emotiv headset, a new personal interface for human computer interaction. The Emotiv EPOC uses a set of sensors to tune into electric signals naturally produced by the brain to detect player thoughts, feelings and expression and connects wirelessly to most PCs. The Emotiv neuroheadset now makes it possible for games to be controlled and influenced by the player’s mind.
With the Emotiv EPOC ‘headset’ comes the EmoKey software: ‘Whether it’s casting magic spells using your mind or relaying expressions in real time, EmoKey links the Emotiv technology to your applications by easily converting detected events into any combination of keystrokes. EmoKey is a nonintrusive, lightweight, background process that runs behind your existing games or applications. EmoKey lets you create profiles that define how detections are mapped to keystroke combinations. Your profiles can then be saved and shared so you can use profiles that your friends have created for your favorite games and software. EmoKey profiles can be as simple as linking the Expressiv smile detection to characters such as “:)”, so that chat applications instantly know when you smile. Or they can be as complex as linking a “lift” command to a sequence of keystrokes that trigger a levitation spell in a game.’ Also planned is the ‘Emotive Game’ which sounds promising as it comes to ‘immersionism’: ‘Soon you can have the fantasy of having supernatural powers and controlling the world with your mind. Your journey will take you through beautiful forests, mysterious valleys, and fantastical temples-and this dramatic landscape adjust itself based on how you feel. Destiny, through the the magic of your mind, will be yours to command!‘ Emotive Game features bravely announced:
- Manipulate & control objects by thought.
- Wield amazing supernatural powers just by thinking of them.
- Creatures in the game react to your facial expressions.
- Environments change according to your emotional state.
I wonder, does one need to think in English for the EmotivEPOC to understand, and will it not be confused if we - like most of us do - think in ‘mixed language’? But know what would be neat? Second Life knowing ‘Oh, she’s already rather angry, inpatient and irritated. I better do not crash now!’ ;)
More on this at emotiv.com. Hat tip to Mr. zeroX.
Tags: controller, emotiv, innovation, technology
3 Responses to “Emotiv EPOC - Reading Your Mind as You Game”
Actually, it’s language-independent. Since it works off of recognizing brain states (electrical activity generated depending on what your emotion or visualization), you could be thinking or saying words, but if you’re mind is emoting anger, then it wouldn’t matter what language you know–you’re mad, and that’s what’ll be picked up by it.
But for the manipulating & controlling of objects, brain patterns linked to ‘let’s move this arm’ or ‘let’s push’ come more into play than emotions, right?
If I ever lay my hands on one of those toys, I’d love to test this out. If it reacts any different if I think in English - which I frequently do, lately - in stead of my native dutch thinking.
(Is kinda funny, I can think in French for example, but then my thoughts are so limited, as are my french language skills. :d)
It’s more so the visualization of pushing something than thinking the words. In any case, they have a training program with it so it can better catch the brainwave patterns as a result of visualization (so thinking in a different language could factor in with the training aspect). Brainwave patterns are language-independent, but it would be really cool to see an eventual study done on whether there are differences between those who speak different languages.
Care to comment?