BBC NEWS | Technology | Brain control headset for gamers

Who needs hands when you can move things with your mind? Well, in games. For now anyway.

Firms like Neurosky and Emotiv have recently begun announcing the upcoming release of their brainwave-reading headsets as game interfaces/controllers.

The headsets translate neural activity into virtual activity so gamers will be able to interact with a virtual enviroment, move objects, even have their avatars express the emotions they themselves are expressing in meatspace. The devices uses a modified EEG technology to read the brain’s activity, but they’ve managed to avoid bulky wiring harnesses and that gooey contact gel on the scalp. Instead, the Emotiv headset is small and relativley unabtrusive, and best of all it’s wireless. Of course, there is more to the setup than just a headset, there’s also a software component that translates the brainsignals to game motion that must be integrated into the game.

So, when you consider this device and then think about the explosive growth of virtual world “gaming” such as SecondLife and others like it, it seems clear that it won’t be long before we’re all jacking in and exploring the multidimensional contstruct of cyberspace with our minds. SecondLife has shown that virtual reality constructs are enormously popular avenues for self-expression and escapist self-development. As the meat world becomes harder and harder to exist in, virtual living will expand into all sectors of human existence. It’s not hard to imagine that soon business tele- and video- conferencing will give way to virtual meet-ups with a seamless interaction between data-sharing and telecommunication. What’s frightening to consider about all of this is that as a species we might choose to neglect the real world and focus too intensely on the virtual because it’s easier. Global warming? Overpopulation? Ecological collapse? Who cares? I can make my avatar change appearance anytime I want!

Look ma! No meaty appendages needed!