Play Games with YOUR MIND! - OCZ Neural Impulse Actuator

[Dacvak]

As far as my searches have lead me, there's no thread on this subject yet. It's not really new, but tonight was the first I've heard of it, so that may be the case for many of you, too.

So, apparently I've been living under a rock that shields me from finding out about crazy fucking technological advancements that are available for the average consumer. Don't get me wrong, I knew about brainwaves and people being able to control various PC tests and shit with them, but I had NO idea I could own this technology for around a hundred or so dollars.

I'm sorry, let me back up.



This is the OCZ Neural Impulse Actuator. You wear that band around your head, and suddenly you can control your standard video games with your fucking brain. What? Alright, so it's a bit more complicated than that. In the last 17 minutes of research I've done (and by research, I mean random YouTube videos) it seems like this device tracks basic brainwaves and facial muscle tensions which then translate into commands that a PC can recognize.

Here are some videos of the device at work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKd_AJUUT7Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPfYDCNoy1c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXmirB7sLSE

Feel free to YouTube "OCZ NIA" for more videos.

So is there anyone on GAF who has used one of these things? They look far from perfect, but just the thought of controlling something with my mind is giving me a half chub.

Since I've obviously done a terrible job at explaining what's going on here, could someone step up and figure out how the fuck this thing works, and what the true limitations on it are? And just for my own curiosity, would it be possible to use one of these things to control a side-scroller, like Mario? I really, really want to beat Mario 3 using nothing but my mind.

Discuss your thoughts, explanations, and possibilities about this crazy shit.

[Crayon Shinchan]

It's amazing, and something that will doubtless be one of the main choices of computer interaction in the future.

But the implementation seems spotty right now, so it's still going to be a ways off.

[Ghost]

It's not that crazy, record how your brain acts when you press a button, then watch for those same readings. The tech seems to be slowly building up a head of steam (when I say slowly, I mean at least 15 years)

This is one of those things that's going to make our generation look stupid when we're 80 and the grandkids are trying to teach us how to control mario with our thoughts and we cant make him do anything but die.

[warthog]

It's not that crazy, record how your brain acts when you press a button, then watch for those same readings. The tech seems to be slowly building up a head of steam (when I say slowly, I mean at least 15 years)

yeah, I remember seeing a CNN story about this many years ago (probably 10-15 yrs) about stuff like this with a girl demoing a skiing game she could controll with her mind through some kind of device.
I didn't know it was on the market now though. I was excited about it back then, not so much right now. But I'm sure we'll get to a point where this might get useful, not just yet.

[Maximilian E.]

[Kagami]

http://www.atarihq.com/museum/2678/mindlink.html

[ElectricThunder]

This kind of technology would surely see much good use when it comes to Roguelikes, as then the need to memorize tons of keys would be greatly diminished.

[Dirtyshubb]

This is one of those things that's going to make our generation look stupid when we're 80 and the grandkids are trying to teach us how to control mario with our thoughts and we cant make him do anything but die.

I have sworn that when i get old im still gonna be as good playing games as i am now and will never let the youth of the day get the better of me!!!!!

On a serious note i think if you are 20-30 than you are well prepared for anything the future can throw at you as we are the generation who were brought up on games and a hell of a lot of cartoons about some of the most random and adstract concepts around.

[freddy]

So is there anyone on GAF who has used one of these things? They look far from perfect, but just the thought of controlling something with my mind is giving me a half chub.

My question is what happens in the game at this point? What happens if I bone up when playing?
Also does my wincing at being shot give me a powerup and invincibility for a set amount of time?

[Zenith]

it's nice and all but it's current level is useless to gaming. even Emotiv's more advanced neural jobbie isn't good enough for gaming.

[Cheesemeister]

Image hosted by Tripod, eh? Nice try.

[ITA84]

When it came out I read an in-depth review of the thing:

http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews.p...ia_-_the_log/1

... but after a couple weeks noone was talking about it anymore.
I was looking forward to this device, but there doesn't seem to be much hype/interest.

[Dacvak]

For only about $120, I think I'll bite the bullet and buy one. I mean, it might not function perfectly, but the thought of controlling something with your mind seems pretty intense.

I did read (on a simple Digg comment) that someone uses this when they play COD4 to give them the edge. I'd have to see that person in action, but who knows, maybe they made it really work for them.

So on to my original question; do you think you could play Mario like this? I don't see why not, and holy FUCK that would be awesome. What a personal gaming milestone, to beat the first level of Mario with your mind...

[zurra]

to the guy that mentioned roguelikes, imagine MMOs too... sounds like a fun brain workout!

[RiverBed]

a few years a go, Sony patented a concept similar to this one. I remember how they too in the creator (a PhD holder) and gave him full funding to pursue the concept. their take was to have a tiny device on your TV project waves to stimulate the parts of your brain and make you feel, smell, hear and see things. very exciting stuff.

but don't expect anything solid coming out of these ideas for the next 20 years.

[Afrikan]

a few years a go, Sony patented a concept similar to this one. I remember how they too in the creator (a PhD holder) and gave him full funding to pursue the concept. their take was to have a tiny device on your TV project waves to stimulate the parts of your brain and make you feel, smell, hear and see things. very exciting stuff. but don't expect anything solid coming out of these ideas for the next 20 years.

I don't like this AT ALL.... what if the game has a huge bug/glitch and it kills you.

the ultimate game killer.

[zoku88]

You fail at search http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=229104

That's ok, the thread is a year old :P

[Label]

Sorry for the bump! But I actually picked this up yesterday. I have had a blast playing around with it. Trying out a few different games and learning how to use it.

My favourite game so far is UT2004 using my mind to move forward and jump as well as shoot, it feels so totally awesome when you kill someone else online because hey I just killed them with my fucking mind!

After about an hour after setting it up I configured it to play Mario, now I had not had alot of time to play around with it when I recorded this video so my playing is kind of stuttery but it has become alot smoother with more practise!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADlDse99eEk

To play Mario I used these binds:

Alpha Wave 1 - move right
Alpha Wave 2 - Run
Beta Wave 1 - move left
Muscle - Jump

I forgot to bind down to something so I couldn't go down any pipes :(

In hindsight I should have added a part in the video where I had to run backwards to make a jump again, to show that off.

[Why would you do that?]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADlDse99eEk

While you're playing, you should keep your arms crossed and casually smirk during the duration of your playtime.

That's how I'd play it, at least.

Seems cool, but maybe with a small issue or two. But cool nonetheless.

[kage]

To play Mario I used these binds: Alpha Wave 1 - move right Alpha Wave 2 - Run Beta Wave 1 - move left Muscle - Jump

So my mind only has four buttons? :'(

[Label]

While you're playing, you should keep your arms crossed and casually smirk during the duration of your playtime. That's how I'd play it, at least. Seems cool, but maybe with a small issue or two. But cool nonetheless.

I actually had my arms behind my head whilst playing leaning back, coolest way to play ever.

I think I will record another video in a few days or something once I have complete control over it.

[Label]

So my mind only has four buttons? :'(

Nope! You can bind 3 types of Alpha and 3 types of Beta, along with the Muscle and Glance.

So glancing left and right count as two different inputs also!



Also a quick look at the interface you can set different events/binds to happen at a certain signal strength of that signal, which works pretty well. (you can also bind more than 1 key press at a time also, so like crouch + shoot in CS etc.

I know this was probably only a joke post :p

[Fyodor Dostoevsky]

So on to my original question; do you think you could play Mario like this? I don't see why not, and holy FUCK that would be awesome. What a personal gaming milestone, to beat the first level of Mario with your mind...

1. "Fuck I missed the secret one up that's just to the left of the little molehill."
2. "Fuck, the computer just picked up my anger and now I'm heading straight for the pit to the left of it!!"
3. "Fuck it's noticing that I'm noticing that it's noticing my anger!!!"
4. *spiral into post-modern madness*
5. Hit flagpole for only 200 points, no fireworks

[vocab]

Let the decking begin. Can't wait to create some ICE that will melt peoples frontal lobes, and create AI's that will most likely bring your mega corporation down to its knees. God I'm gonna be so rich.

Whoops judging from the video, I guess the technology isn't quite there yet, but this is only the beginning!

[THE Caffeinated]

YOU are the controller!

[Hawkian]

To play Mario I used these binds: Alpha Wave 1 - move right Alpha Wave 2 - Run Beta Wave 1 - move left Muscle - Jump

Can't believe no one has asked this, but... how the FUCK do you determine what kind of brainwaves you emit?

[Bit-Bit]

All of my life, I thought I was the best Super Mario Bros player I know. Able to beat the game from start to finish without dying once. Now I must do it...with MY MIND!

[Anasui Kishibe]

this is like the shit Richard Garriott mumbled about some years ago. Turns out that man is a prophet of shit ideas, too bad he couldn't predict Tabula Rasa

[tintinrudd]

Want to bet Nintendo has already done this, scaled it for commercial cost and is now deciding whether enough games and customers would use it?

Any patents by Nintendo, or the others, related to this found?

[Enk]

Image hosted by Tripod, eh? Nice try.

Can't believe that's how kids are going to look six years from now. Damn little punks need to stay the hell out of my arcade with new age head-a-ma-jigs.

[Alphahawk]

To play Mario I used these binds: Alpha Wave 1 - move right Alpha Wave 2 - Run Beta Wave 1 - move left Muscle - Jump .

I like how you put that little bit in their, but you don't explain any of it, how do I change from Alpha Wave 1 to Alpha Wave 2, and what the fuck does that even mean?

[Fyodor Dostoevsky]

is that Elijah Wood?

[Night_Trekker]

I read about this a while ago. Apparently Pavarotti was a fan, strangely.

is that Elijah Wood?

Yep

[onken]

This would be awesome if they get it totally bang on, neat for people with disabilities too.

[Label]

I like how you put that little bit in their, but you don't explain any of it, how do I change from Alpha Wave 1 to Alpha Wave 2, and what the fuck does that even mean?

That was quite silly of me not to explain.



Here you can see all of the signals the NIA can read, and well to control say alpha 1, I just think really hard about creating the signal (in this case I think hard for Mario to go forward).

It is all quite hard to explain and to be honest I have no clue how I am getting it to work really, it sort of well.. just does.

The main downsides to the NIA is that:
1. It takes a hell of alot of concentration to play.
2. Because I have so much electronic equipment around my desk there is always alot of interference, and I have to ground myself most of the time.

The best use for this though is for FPS's in my opinion as a facial twitch is alot faster than clicking on the mouse to shoot, so I was able to kind of start shooting people sub-conscientiously, without really thinking about it all. (I racked up 50~ kills in UT2004 in the 5~ minutes I was on the server)

[BikoBiko]

Brainfingers?

[Danneee]

Brainfingers?

AWESOME!

I would love to toy around with this, it's just a bit on the expensive side...



edit: It seems it is not that expensive at all, you can get it for about 90 Euro here in Sweden.
At that price I might just bite.

[Gagaman]

Shown with mini games = "GIMMICK!"
Shown with a FPS: "INCREDIBLE!"

[panda21]

that looks like it would give you one hell of a headache.

also, since you mapped jump to 'muscle', its quite a lot less impressive

[gregor7777]

Sorry for the bump! But I actually picked this up yesterday. I have had a blast playing around with it. Trying out a few different games and learning how to use it. My favourite game so far is UT2004 using my mind to move forward and jump as well as shoot, it feels so totally awesome when you kill someone else online because hey I just killed them with my fucking mind! After about an hour after setting it up I configured it to play Mario, now I had not had alot of time to play around with it when I recorded this video so my playing is kind of stuttery but it has become alot smoother with more practise! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADlDse99eEk To play Mario I used these binds: Alpha Wave 1 - move right Alpha Wave 2 - Run Beta Wave 1 - move left Muscle - Jump I forgot to bind down to something so I couldn't go down any pipes :( In hindsight I should have added a part in the video where I had to run backwards to make a jump again, to show that off.

This thread is fucking awesome.

[rex64]

Well this NIA is fuckin awesome!

[gofreak]

I lol-ed at jumping up and down on the pipe - you could just see the frustration when you realised you forgot 'down' :p

Really though, how does it feel? Is there any frustration? Do you feel you have the same level of control with mario as you do with a pad?

Also, whatever happened to this stuff: http://www.emotiv.com/ Are they still focussed on games? They seem to have branched out into other stuff. Their tech seemed to be the most advanced (but also the most expensive I guess)

[DrFunk]

this is simply awesome

[Ettenra]

Looks like a lot of work, but man, would be so awesome to sit in the recliner and play with my arms crossed.

[Zaptruder]

After considerable practice I have no doubt a person will find controlling their brainwaves just as second nature as controlling their own hands, arms, legs, etc.

In fact, that's the nature of childhood development; you don't come preconfigured with the know how to use your body; the wiring is all there, but you kinda have to feel it out and learn through trial and repetition and association... after a while it becomes so internalized that it's only second nature to use such abilities.

The OCZ is the first of its kind (commercial mind driven interface), but it certainly won't be the last... the advantages are far too great to ignore in an increasingly computing driven environment.

[scotcheggz]

Label, your Mario playing was awesome, have you tried Mario Kart with this thing? Can you?

I'm not sure I really get it, if you were to play Mario Kart, would you have to constantly think like "go,go,go,fastfasterFASTER!! Left, left, left, right, right, right, DROP THE BANANAS!!"

Or would it be much more relaxed than that? Either way, I love the idea of paying mario and drinking tea at the same time.

[Dead Man Typing]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uyrd0uOuyms

James May driving a wheelchair with his mind. Jump to about a minute in.

[sky]

Yeah, looking forward to the inevitable "headache-age" followup thread.

[TheOneGuy]

CONTROLLING with my mind is all well and good but until this sheiz can link into my brain and make me FEEL things as if I were really there, full on VR whatchamoohicky, it is just not that exciting to me. ):

[Bit-Bit]

I need more recent info on this. All of the articles I've seen so far are from 2008. Is there another model coming out soon? What are other alternatives?