Control your iPod with your brain waves?

[Oneslowz28]

I just received this press release. Normally I would publish this on the front page but seeing has how we just published a review I am going to publish this here.


http://thebestcasescenario.com/oneslowz28/newsdesk/xwave.jpg


Sunnyvale, Calif. – September 7, 2010 – PLX Devices Inc. today unveiled the XWave™ (http://www.plxwave.com/), the world’s first brainwave interface accessory for the iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad. The XWave™ is a small device worn over your head similar to any standard headphone device. Paired with its apps, XWave allows you to control your mind and the world around it.

The XWave™, powered by Neurosky Inc. technologies, for the first time brings an extra sensory dynamic never seen before at the consumer level. For years, this technology has been used by doctors to treat epilepsy and seizures in patients. XWave senses the faintest electrical impulses transmitted through your skull to the surface of your forehead and converts these analog signals into digital signals.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWOBSuKqiWU&feature=player_embedded

The device comes bundled with the free XWave App. The App allows you to become familiar with controlling objects with your mind and gives you an opportunity to train your brain to control its attention and meditation levels. With the application you will have to go through different stages to control the function of your brain. Objectives include: having to levitate a ball for a certain amount of time, change a color based on the relaxation of your brain and training your brain to maximize its attention span. Another app that is available for download from iTunes is XWave Tunes. This app will allow users to connect with each other through the music that stimulates their brainwaves.

“The human brain is the most powerful, complex thing in the universe, and for the first time, we’re able to harness its amazing power and connect it to everyday technology,” said Paul Lowchareonkul, Founder and CEO of PLX Devices Inc. “With the development of 3rd party apps, the potential for innovation is limitless.”

PLX Devices Inc. is also offering 3rd party software developers the opportunity to design and develop apps through its Software Development Kit (SDK) program (http://www.swiftpage3.com/SpeClicks.aspx?X=2V0XAHQTHVKFXPKO01X6WM). This allows app developers to add compelling hardware interfaces for any type of application. Whether it is relaxation, brain training, entertainment, games, social networking, sports, sleep, the possibilities are endless with the XWave hardware device. Some of the applications that are being developed at the moment will allow you to play games by controlling objects with your mind, control the lights in your home or select the type of music through your iPod based on your mood.


Availability

The XWave hardware is available to purchase today September 7, 2010 and will start shipping in October 2010 at a retail price of $99.99 from www.plxwave.com. The XWave Apps by PLX Devices will be free from iTunes and the Apple App Store and can be directly downloaded from your iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad device starting early October. Additional 3rd party apps are being added every day.

About PLX Devices Inc.

PLX Devices Inc., headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA, is a premier supplier of innovative, cutting edge consumer electronics. The Company has divisions in automotive tuning, automotive diagnostics, and displays. Visit www.plxdevices.com

[Drum Thumper]

Until I see a full fledged review, I'm going to offer a case of snake oil to go along with it.

[msmrx57]

Until I see a full fledged review, I'm going to offer a case of snake oil to go along with it.

Naw, snake oil is out. Went to a craft fair last weekend the big thing now is emu oil. It fixes everything from arthritis to heartburn. :D

[Konrad]

I suppose they couldn't get a blonde with enough brains to work the gadget properly.

I've seen proof-of-concept demonstrated before, years ago, with other devices ... can't recall where (because I'm blond) ... it's not a new tech, just an inaccurate nearly-useless one which has been developed and abandoned before. If you think people have problems with variations in biometric systems like voice recognition and even capacitive touchscreens then you ain't seen nothing on neural activity patterns.

Personally, I'd be a little leery of wearing electrical sensors on my skull. Does it potentially change conductive paths inside your brain? Probably harmless, like a metal helmet, but who knows?

Imagine how stupid people will feel when other people (or even children) can do things easier or faster or better with this interface ... it would be difficult not to use a gadget like this to "measure" how smart everyone in a group of people might be. A potentially exciting accessibility interface for disabled people, I imagine.

[x88x]

Without looking too detailed into it, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it's another repackaging of the same tech in OCZ's NIA (http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/ocz_peripherals/nia). There have been a few other companies who have released similar things over the years, and they've all been thoroughly 'meh' once you get over the initial awe-factor of controlling your computer (or in this case your phone) with your mind (kindasortanotreally).

IIRC, how it works is similar to how the finger-thingy on a polygraph machine works; the sensors detect changes in electrical conductivity across your skin (so no Konrad, no changes to your brain ;) ). You first have to go through and train it to respond correctly to different 'input'. It really responds more to emotions than thoughts, since emotions tie much more into our physiology than upper thought. The most impressive thing I've seen done with this tech is a skiing game where you can generally go 'left' or 'right' after a while training yourself and the computer, and a proof-of-concept thing (I think by OCZ..or somebody who came out with a similar device recently) where you have to levitate a ball on screen.

[Konrad]

... It really responds more to emotions than thoughts ...
... I've seen done with this tech is a skiing game where you can generally go 'left' or 'right' after a while training yourself and the computer ...
Generally responds better to emotions ... an advantage for the passionate gamers, but useless for the calculating emotionless killers (like me).

"generally left or right" ... fewer things piss me off more than an inefficient, unresponsive, inaccurate, clumsy interface. Maybe being angry would improve my game, lol?

[x88x]

This guy's working on an open source library for the Emotiv EPOC (http://emotiv.com/); a similar device, but it has 14 sensors instead of 2. Apparently it's actually a pretty good device, but Emotiv wanted stupid amounts of money to access the raw data (it's encrypted coming from the device), so he found the key that one of the programs was using, got the raw data, and is working on making Python libraries for it.
http://github.com/daeken/Emokit/blob/master/Announcement.md