Thought-controlled computing no longer Star Trek fiction
When Trevor Coleman's friend threw a Star Trek convention, he could have slapped on some pointy-ears for a costume and attended like most fans. Instead he contributed a brainwave-controlled video game straight out of an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Toronto-based InteraXon had developed a system that measures brainwave activity using electrodes held in place with a rubber headband, then converts those readings into an output that can manipulate a computer. It's a little bit different from using a mouse and keyboard.
The Star Trek convention was perfect for the technology's first public debut, Coleman says. It just took a graphical interface made to approximate one seen in Star Trek episode The Game.
"By entering and leaving particular brain states, you can control a seat vibrator that gives them tactile feedback," he says. "Also, the video image and the game are controlled with your mind alone."
InteraXon demonstrated their technology at the Premier's Innovation Awards on Tuesday. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty slipped the rubber band and electrodes onto his head and shot a few discs into a moving cylinder -- the object of the game.
