Gamers will soon be able to interact with the virtual world using their thoughts and emotions alone.
A neuro-headset which interprets the interaction of neurons in the brain will go on sale later this year.
"It picks up electrical activity from the
brain and sends wireless signals to a computer," said Tan Le, president
of US/Australian firm Emotiv.
"It allows the user to manipulate a game or virtual environment naturally and intuitively," she added.
The brain is made up of about
100 billion nerve cells, or neurons, which emit an electrical impulse
when interacting. The headset implements a technology known as
non-invasive electroencephalography (EEG) to read the neural activity.
Ms Le said: "Emotiv is a neuro-engineering
company and we've created a brain computer interface that reads
electrical impulses in the brain and translates them into commands that
a video game can accept and control the game dynamically."
Headsets which read neural activity are not new, but
Ms Le said the Epoc was the first consumer device that can be used for
gaming.
Emotiv Stonehenge Demo
"This is the first headset that doesn't require a
large net of electrodes, or a technician to calibrate or operate it and
does require gel on the scalp," she said. "It also doesn't cost tens of
thousands of dollars."
The use of Electroencephalography in medical practice
dates back almost 100 years but it is only since the 1970s that the
procedure has been used to explore brain computer interfaces.
The Epoc technology can be used to give authentic
facial expressions to avatars of gamers in virtual worlds. For example,
if the player smiles, winks, grimaces the headset can detect the
expression and translate it to the avatar in game.
It can also read emotions of players and
translate those to the virtual world. "The headset could be used to
improve the realism of emotional responses of AI characters in games,"
said Ms Le.
"If you laughed or felt happy after
killing a character in a game then your virtual buddy could admonish
you for being callous," she explained.
The $299 headset has a gyroscope to
detect movement and has wireless capabilities to communicate with a USB
dongle plugged into a computer.
The Emotiv said the headset could detects more than 30 different expressions, emotions and actions.
They include excitement, meditation, tension and
frustration; facial expressions such as smile, laugh, wink, shock
(eyebrows raised), anger (eyebrows furrowed); and cognitive actions
such as push, pull, lift, drop and rotate (on six different axis).
Gamers are able to move objects in the world just by thinking of the action.
Emotiv is working with IBM to develop the technology for uses in "strategic enterprise business markets and virtual worlds"
Paul Ledak, vice president, IBM Digital
Convergence said brain computer interfaces, like the Epoc headset were
an important component of the future 3D Internet and the future of
virtual communication.
Source = www.bbc.co.uk
ISP says it is constantly working to ensure its "customers can enjoy their favourite applications".