Brain Games or Video Game Control

Brain Games or Video Game Control

Imagine being able to control the world around you using just the power of your brain. You could pull pictures off the walls, knock bookshelves over, and even bend spoons, using your thoughts alone! Well, though it’s impossible to control the physical world around you using just your brain, new technologies may soon allow the brain to control the virtual world of video games. A neuro-engineering company, Emotiv Systems, has developed a headset that uses a gamer’s brain activity to control interactions in the game.

The headset’s fourteen sensors are strategically places on the headset to detect subtle changes in the electrical patterns of the brain. In videogames, these changes could trigger a character to attack, flee, dance, or twenty-seven other possibilities in real-time. In some games, even emotions and facial expressions could be represented.

The EPOC sensors detect activity primarily from the surface of the brain’s frontal lobe and cerebrum, which control higher thought processes. But, even once clear signals are detected by the sensors, it is difficult to determine exactly what those brain waves represent. Mathematical algorithms are used to pinpoint the source of the brain wave, which can then be analyzed to determine what action is desired in the game. A team of neuroscientists and computer engineers working for Emotiv Systems collaborated to complete and analyze EEG brain-wave recordings of hundreds of volunteers over the last four years. The brain waves of the volunteers were recorded as they experienced mock video games and virtual realities designed to produce an array of emotions, facial expressions, and cognitive responses. Certain actions triggered similar brain responses among the majority of volunteers.

The possibilities of this new technology could expand to create changes in the game itself, as opposed to just the character being played. For instance, changes in brain activity could trigger a change in the music of the game to fit the player’s mood, or, if the player appears to be getting bored, it could signal the need for an increase in the difficulty of the enemies. Even with these huge advances in gaming technology, Emotiv Systems claims that they do not intend to eliminate the standard handheld gaming controller. Instead, they hope that the EPOC headset will serve to compliment and enhance the gaming experience.