GDC 2010: Hands-Off With NeuroSky's Brain-Computer Interface Tech - News
by VGChartz Staff , posted on 16 March 2010 / 5,122 Views
At GDC I got to speak with NeuroSky and try out a few apps with their brain-computer interface headset. You may have already seen this used in the Star Wars Force Trainer by Uncle Milton Games, or Mattel's MindFlex, as both were released last year. While both of those toys let you operate fans with your mind, NeuroSky had some new tech demos to show off what else this tech can do. Unlike traditional EEG caps that require several sensors and a magic shampoo, this headset only requires three. There is one on each ear, and one that comfortably rests on the middle of your forehead. It can come on and off as fast as any pair of headphones, and only takes 5-15 seconds to calibrate with your brain.
This headset, or MindSet, is able to filter out all ambient noise and pay attention to only the electrical signal coming from your frontal lobe. It measures your attentiveness and relaxation, independently of each other. You can control some things by concentrating really hard, and you can control others by relaxing, and trying to do both at once is the most difficult and the most fun.
The first game I tried let me blow up fireworks by blinking. A blank screen had fireworks coming up from the bottom, just an inch or two, and then going back down. If I blinked, one would explode. The electric signal going through the muscles in my eyelids would interrupt the brain signals it was paying attention to, and this would tell the game to set off a firework. If I blinked softly, a firework would fizzle out and give me just a few points. If I slammed my eyes shut with a hardcore squint, the firework would have a huge explosion and give me a much higher score. I was also able to control the height of the fireworks by focusing. The harder I focused, the higher they would go. It didn't take long until I was staring and squinting as hard as I could and racking up a nice high score. This was one of the games that's funner to watch than to play.
I asked a NeuroSky rep about any applications blinking controls could have in gaming, and he said that was really up to any of the developers they were licensing the technology to. He did say you could map reloading or something like that to a double-blink so you wouldn't have to move your hands at all and lose your aim, but that eventually they'll make games where you use a regular controller to run and shoot while using your mind to activate your character's telekinesis or fireballs.
Next I tried a 2-player app that measured how in-synch the brainwaves of two people are. They said this would probably be the most fun for married couples. On the screen my brainwaves were shown as blue squares floating by, and the other player's brainwaves were shown as yellow squares. As our brainwaves started to synchronize mine would fade through purple to red and his would fade through orange to red, and if the whole screen was red we were perfectly in synch.
As he explained the "controls" to me, his squares were yellow and mine were blue, as his brain was in explaining mode, and mine was in listening mode. When he was done explaining I said "Oh, cool I get it" and we both nodded, and the screen instantly turned red. Then we tried to read the same thing at the same time and stayed in synch for a while. We stayed in synch until another NeuroSky rep said "Hey check this game out," which I guess interrupted our thoughts in different ways.
This next little game was Memory Matrix by Lumosity, a simple brain-trainer that didn't use my mind (at least not my brain magic). Each round more tiles would appear and I'd only have a second to memorize them before I had to repeat them. However, the MindSet was worn to measure my attention and meditation, as part of Lumosity's research for future brain-teasers. By measuring users' attention and meditation levels while repeatedly memorizing and recalling shapes, they could find out at what point people are paying the most attention to a game, when they're the most relaxed, and when they get bored. Accurate start-to-boredom time measurements will probably be a big player in the future of market research.
I had to sign a contract to allow Lumosity to measure my brainwaves, and they said I was the first person to read the whole contract. I told them I could never be too careful with the people out there who want to copyright my brain (especially now that I can use it to set off fireworks). They assured me I could keep my brain, and I teased it for a few minutes.
Next I tried Tug of Mind, by MindGames. This is an iPhone game that lets you take a photo of somebody you don't like and record some annoying speech, anything that would really get under your skin, like "Go suck an egg, jerk." The game then stretches the image to make them angry, and they start to insult you. You must out-relax them to calm them down. Later levels require you to out-anger a relaxed opponent, or to keep your level of focus within a small range somewhere in the middle. MindGames calls this "mind training," and says over time you'll be able to relax and focus whenever you want.
Then I played a space shooter minigame made by Coding4Fun, the Microsoft blog that makes open-source programs... for fun. I used a Wii remote to point at enemies in outer space, and then focused as hard as I could to blow them up. It showed a number between 0 and 100, the measurement of my "focus powers." The higher the number, the faster I'd heat up my enemies. They'd turn red and start to vibrate before they exploded. It was really tough and most people didn't last that long, including myself. The enemies would shoot missiles at you and you wouldn't have enough time to stop the missiles before they hit you.
After playing so many games that focused on my focus, I was feeling really relaxed and concentrated, which was refreshing in the crowded and chaotic GDC showroom floor. So I gave this shooter a second try once I learned how to stay "in the zone" with my focus near the maximum level. Then I was blasting missiles out of my way with the greatest of ease, and got the highest score.
The last game I tried had two objectives. First I could explode a barrel with my mind just by concentrating. I was really good at this one and could blow the suckers up in 19 seconds. Then I tried to levitate a ball by relaxing while staying focused. This was the hardest challenge at the booth. It would take me a whole minute to relax in the right way, but then I'd only keep the ball in the air for half a second. Right when the ball started hovering I'd notice this and get excited, ruining my relaxation and focus levels. Or I'd just relax too much and not focus on anything.
Being able to see my meditation level while trying to meditate was really great though. I was able to think about every relaxing thing I could, and then see on the screen how relaxed that actually made me. I could meditate while thinking of the ocean, or a candle, or the empty cosmos, and compare the results with the graph on the screen. I discovered the easiest way for me to quickly meditate without losing focus is to try to concentrate really hard on the most relaxing music I can remember. I think apps like this could not only help people relax, but teach them how to relax more efficiently, and who doesn't want to do that?
The MindSet, all its games, and the full SDK are available now. For more information, visit NeuroSky.com or their YouTube page.
Unfortunately there was still no word on Judecca, the MindSet-using FPS zombie game that Square-Enix was showing off at the Tokyo Game Show in 2008.
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This is the type of gaming tech that will be common someday. Improving humanity by video games. We will have come a long way by then. This stuff sounds nifty.
I seriously love the potential! Though it's too early 4 m3 2 want 1!
NeuroSky controller for Wii 2 confirmed?!
This reminds me of the movie "Gamer" were ppl control other ppl real ppl avatars with their minds... It's just a matter of time!?!?!! O.O
Hmm really interesting. Cant wait to see this technology to continue to improve and become more accurate
The day i get to use my brain to activate spells in a game is the day im leaving this planet. That is crazy. before you know it... we are all going to be force choking the shit out of everyone.
Wii Fit antichrist confirmed? XD
