Brainwave Controlled Video Games Are Becoming Reality

San Jose, Ca.-based NeuroSky has developed brainwave-reading technology which could potentially end up used in next-generation video games.

Engineers at NeuroSky Inc. developed a “ThinkGearTM module with Dry-Active Sensor” which captures and amplifies brainwave signals, eye movements, and other bio-signals. The signal is then run through their signal processing unit which runs proprietary interpretation software to translate biosignals into useful logic commands.

As a demonstration, they equipped an employee with Darth Vader costume which hides beneath the helmet their brainwave sensor. The “light” sword she carries is lit when she is concentrating. The player maintains focus by channeling thoughts on any fixed mental image, or by thinking specifically about keeping the light sword on, AP reports. When the mind wanders away, the sword goes dark.

One of the co-founders, South Korean Koo Hyoung Lee, used biofeedback to improve concentration and relaxation techniques for members of his country’s Olympic archery team. “Most physical games are really mental games,” said Lee, also chief technology officer at San Jose-based NeuroSky, a 12-employee company founded in 1999, to AP.

“You must maintain attention at very high levels to succeed. This technology makes toys and video games more lifelike.”

“These techniques are used usually in clinical contexts. The gaming companies are trying to push the envelope,” said Goldberg, to AP. He is author of “The Wisdom Paradox: How Your Mind Can Grow Stronger As Your Brain Grows Older.” “You can use computers to improve the cognitive abilities, but it’s an art,” he said.

NeuroSky CEO Stanley Yang said an international toy manufacturer, whose identity was kept secret, plans to unveil an inexpensive gizmo with an embedded NeuroSky biosensor at the Japan Toy Association’s trade show in late June, with a U.S. version scheduled to debut at the American International Fall Toy Show in October.