brain-computer-interface

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Published
Published September 23, 2010
Author
Michael Martinez
Title: Brain-Computer Interface Date: 2010-09-23 18:28 Author: Michael Category: Misc Tags: BCI Slug: brain-computer-interface Status: published
WOW.
Talk about a fun diversion. I was minding my own business reading through my emails and I came across this hardware hacker manifesto. I’ve been taking things apart and trying to put them back together, sometimes in different configurations, for a looooonnnnggg time. Most people label this as a curious diversion or nerdy escapade if you explain it in context. I’ve never really thought to label it as Hacking… until I became a subscriber to Make:.  I don’t really have an opinion as to the manifesto above, as its none of my business really… However, I became instantly and extremely interested in what this guy was hacking.
The item is called theEmotiv EPOC headset and it looks AWESOME. Why? Its a research grade Electroencephalography(EEG) device at a consumer price point that ships with a relatively low cost software development kit and a suite of tools that are plug and play.  This is the FUTURE as far as I’m concerned. Again, you may ask, why? Not only does it represent the ultimate in laziness (Humans do love to be lazy… just ask them), it represents the possibility of truly understanding the human condition.
The brain. Our brain is an amazing feat of biological engineering. As I sit here and struggle for words to tap into the keyboard so they can be suitable for displaying and conveying my thoughts and emotion… I wonder if this is how humans are to really designed to communicate. Does the written word represent the path of least resistance to enable communication of human thoughts and emotion in a static medium? Is there another way? A billion similar question and convoluted pseudo-philosophical arguments rage in my little noodle.
At this point, I’m not 100% sure what this headset is really capable of. I’ve watched a handful of YouTube videos and read a white paper or two and I’m really just getting to the meat of it. One thing is for sure, I know what I want for Christmas.
Video Courtesy of ExtremeTech via YouTube