Neurofeedback games?

[Bernard]

Engineers at NeuroSky Inc. have big plans for brain wave-reading toys and video games. They say the simple Darth Vader game — a relatively crude biofeedback device cloaked in gimmicky garb — portends the coming of more sophisticated devices that could revolutionize the way people play.

Technology from NeuroSky and other startups could make video games more mentally stimulating and realistic. It could even enable players to control video game characters or avatars in virtual worlds with nothing but their thoughts.

Adding biofeedback to "Tiger Woods PGA Tour," for instance, could mean that only those players who muster Zen-like concentration could nail a put. In the popular action game "Grand Theft Auto," players who become nervous or frightened would have worse aim than those who remain relaxed and focused.

NeuroSky's prototype measures a person's baseline brain-wave activity, including signals that relate to concentration, relaxation and anxiety. The technology ranks performance in each category on a scale of 1 to 100, and the numbers change as a person thinks about relaxing images, focuses intently, or gets kicked, interrupted or otherwise distracted.

The technology is similar to more sensitive, expensive equipment that athletes use to achieve peak performance. Koo Hyoung Lee, a NeuroSky co-founder from South Korea, used biofeedback to improve concentration and relaxation techniques for members of his country's Olympic archery team.

Brain wave reading toys

I found this part encouraging:

An EEG headset in a research hospital may have 100 or more electrodes that attach to the scalp with a conductive gel. It could cost tens of thousands of dollars.

But the price and size of EEG hardware is shrinking. NeuroSky's "dry-active" sensors don't require gel, are the size of a thumbnail, and could be put into a headset that retails for as little as $20, said NeuroSky CEO Stanley Yang.

[John-Forrest]

I am keeping an eye on this development. I'm sure I can't afford the expensive medical devices that cost thousands of dollars, but I see "head-games" going for only a few hundred. Are these as good as the fancy medical devices? Considering what a rip-off medical treatment is in general, I wouldn't be surprised if they are.

This thing may revolutionize how people interact with computers. For example, you could just "think-commute" to work. Once this thing comes out, I'll be the first on my block to get one - and I'll let you know how it works.

[Bernard]

More on the subject. Looks like the technology is going to be fairly sophisticated as it will be monitoring multiple wave channels:

... NeuroSky has signed a number of licensing deals for its sensor and signal-processing technology, notably with Sega Toys. "The complete embedded hardware fits into a lightweight headset, which is Bluetooth and USB-enabled," says Greg Hyver, vice-president of marketing at NeuroSky. "The headsets should cost around $49 (£25), a similar price to other game peripherals." The company has also completed work on a mind-reading enhancement for mobile phones.

NeuroSky's showcase game features a 3D arena where players have to lift and manipulate objects such as watermelons or cars. The heavier the item, the more focus or relaxation is required. In the multiplayer version, you can throw objects at other players. Directional movement is controlled using the mouse, but winning requires more than quick reflexes and hand-eye coordination.

"This technology is really turning traditional gameplay on its head," says Olafur Palsson, a professor at the University of Carolina who has designed a number of medical and commercial neurofeedback products. "Most games currently just make you zone out. Being able to produce a sharp, clear brain signal, on the other hand, can be very valuable."

Palsson has patented a golf trainer called Zone, which warps the green and adjusts the size of the hole depending on the player's ratio of alpha, beta and theta brainwaves. Lining up the shot would require a high level of focus, associated with high beta and low theta frequencies. The putting stroke would be accompanied by alpha waves, demonstrating relaxation. He doesn't have a release date yet, but says this is just one of a number of products that can also help people train their brain to "rev up" on command.

Mood movements

A team at Keio University in Japan has developed a PC-based system that allows players to walk the virtual hallways of Second Life by the power of thought. Their headset scans activity in three areas of the brain's motor cortex, which control voluntary movement of different limbs.

The avatar walks forward when they focus on moving their feet, and turns when they focus on their right or left arm. The team hopes its system will help reinvigorate patients suffering from paralysis, but as with Emotiv's "Expressiv" technology, it can be used by almost anyone.

Another Silicon Valley company, OLogic, has built a robot called The Brain which follows its owner's orders - if it's in the right mood. It plans to have a commercial product in stores by next year. Ted Larson, one of the founders of the company, says OLogic uses a radio-enabled version of NeuroSky's headset, "so it really looks like mind control".

Yet another product due in the next year or two is software from the French company Musinaut, which selects music appropriate to the user's current or desired mental state. Palsson says there is huge potential for musical applications. "Piano players might want their theta activity to be higher," he says. "In the meditative state, the music plays them, as opposed to them playing the music." ...

Playing games with your mind

[John-Forrest]

I just logged into NeuroSky today. The web page is a bit vague about what is being released, when it is being released, to whom it is being released to (something weird about needing a license), and, last but not least, how much will it cost? I think we should encourage them to think about software in neurofeedback applications.

[RobinN]

I think I will stick with the experts to manage something as tricky as a seizure disorder.
Though this might be fun! Talk about having trouble falling asleep....

[brain]

If it comes out in a Wii fashion;
oh my gosh .. we'll never see
BIRDY again!

LOL! LOL! LOL!

Or even worse -- MR. B. either!

[RobinN]

http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/antenna/neurobotics/

Paralyzed people have already used the Graz brain-computer interface to walk and talk in a virtual street. The speed and sophistication of brain-computer interfaces is currently limited, but future developments could lead to total immersion in a virtual world.
***
American scientist John Donoghue is masterminding a brain implant called BrainGate. For the first time, it allows people to move physical objects by thought alone. A tiny chip in the brain picks up signals produced as you think about carrying out an action, and turns them into physical movement. 'We hope to achieve the control of a variety of technologies to allow disabled people to carry out everyday tasks,' says Donoghue.

[Bernard]

Wow... Sounds like The Matrix.

To be clear, what I found most interesting about the news stories above is the sophisticated, low cost hardware. I'm guessing we are getting closer to the day where clinical EEG neurofeedback systems will be available in your neighborhood electronics store for about the same cost as a gaming system.

I'm not sure that the game systems themselves (as mentioned in the articles) have necessarily considered the long term consequences of the operant conditioning their games are going to effect upon people.

[John-Forrest]

"I'm not sure that the game systems themselves (as mentioned in the articles) have necessarily considered the long term consequences of the operant conditioning their games are going to effect upon people."

Yeah, that's something to think about. People hooked on computer games for long periods of times may have long-term effects on their brainwaves. There is a possibility a perfectly normal person could develop some sort of seizure disorder from using the wrong brainwaves.

Along that line, I wonder what long term computer use does to brainwaves?

[brain]

Wow... Sounds like The Matrix....

Like I said ... "if it ever came in a
Wii model, Wii will never see you again!"