Innovation: Mind-reading headsets will change your brain

This week, engineer Adam Wilson made global headlines by updating Twitter using his brainwaves. “USING EEG TO SEND TWEET” he explained.

Wilson’s achievement was actually pretty trivial. He used a system called BCI2000, found in hundreds of laboratories across the globe, that can do the job of a keyboard for any software program. But it was significant precisely because it was trivial: mind-reading tech is going to have a massive impact this year.

In the coming months, cheap headsets that let you control technology with the electrical signals generated by your firing neurons will go on sale to the general public. Our relationship with technology – and our brains – will never be the same again.

Escaping the lab

Researchers have developed systems that read brainwaves – in the form of electroencephalogram (EEG) signals – in order to help people suffering from disabilities or paralysis control wheelchairs, play games , or type on a computer. Now, two companies are preparing to market similar devices to mainstream consumers.

Australian outfit Emotiv will release a headset whose 16 sensors make it possible to direct 12 different movements in a computer game. Emotiv says the helmet can also detect emotions.

Read more . . .

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Tags: adam wilson, brainwaves, computer game, electroencephalogram, gameplay, headsets, Innovation, mainstream consumers, massive impact, mind reading

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 25th, 2009 at 1:13 pm and is filed under Innovation, New Scientist. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.