Neuro-headset allows hands-free gaming

Gadget allows gamers to interact with the virtual world

Guy Dixon, vnunet.com 20 Feb 2008

A gaming headset that can read the interaction of neurons in the brain will go on sale later this year priced at $299.

The Emotiv Development Kit from Emotiv Systems allows developers to create games that respond to a player's emotions.

Gamers then control characters' expressions and manipulate objects using only the power of their brain, according to the company.

The Emotiv EPOC headset works by using "non-invasive electroencephalography" to interpret neural activity between the brain's 100 billion cells.

Emotiv Systems said that the headset can read more than 30 different expressions, emotions and actions.

Detectable facial expressions include smiling, laughing and winking, and the headset can also pick up on excitement, meditation, tension and frustration. Detectable cognitive actions include pushing, pulling, lifting, dropping and rotating.

The wireless headset uses a gyroscope to detect movement and communicates with a USB dongle when plugged into a computer.

"Brain-computer interfaces dramatically change the way players interact with a game and have a profound effect on the gaming experience," said Nam Do, chief executive and co-founder at Emotiv Systems.

"Developers are looking to this technology to take their games to another level, to differentiate their products and to retain their fans.

"Current interfaces, such as keyboards and controllers, are relatively basic and non-intuitive and are out-of-keeping with the sophistication levels of today's games and the move towards more immersive environments."

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