The Emotiv headset promises to bring improvement to mental gaming this year; it should be a big improvement over Mindball. Mindball is a lot like chess, but without the dynamic movements of the players. Two players wearing headbands concentrate on remaining calm; the sensors in the headbands detect electrical currents in the scalp that correspond to brain activity.
Mindball has been around since 2004; the big deal at present is that, rather than paying $19K for this kind of action, you'll pay a lot less, get a cooler headset, and have better graphics.
Emotiv is bringing out a headset this year that combines a variety of sensor technologies to improve your mental gaming experience.
Using a combination of EEGs (which reveal alpha waves that signify calmness), EMGs (which measure muscle movement), and ECGs and GSR (which measure heart rate and sweating), developers hope to create a picture of a player´s mental and physical state. Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), which monitors changes in blood oxygenation, could also be incorporated since it overcomes some of the interference problems with EEGs.
It is hoped that the Emotiv headset could be used with games that are more interesting than just rolling a ball. Take a look at this video, showing the power and excitement of Mindball.
(The calmness of victory, the headache of defeat)
SF fans by the millions remember the advanced Krell technology demonstrated in the fifties film Forbidden Planet. Note that Walter Pigeon sports a cool headset.
Poul Anderson's 'Brain Wave'
"Everybody and his dog, it seemed, wanted to live out in the country; transportation and communication were no longer isolating factors." - Poul Anderson, 1953.
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