‘Brain Games’

It sounds like something straight from the pages of science fiction.

A woman puts on a sensor-studded helmet and, using her brain alone, is able to play a video game, performing actions including opening doors and picking up objects.

But not only is the technology now available, two Australians are at the forefront of bringing it to the world.

Unveiled at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco last week, technology company Emotiv’s “brain computer interface” reportedly allows users a new generation gaming experience.

The interface helmet, developed by former Young Australian of the Year and Emotiv president Tan Le and her partner Nam Do, also picks up facial expressions and emotions of users and displays them on screen. The gaming system is one of a range of brain-operated devices that will become available this year, including computers and wheelchairs.

The gaming helmet has received more than $1.5 million in funding from the Federal Government under an innovation development scheme.

“The next major wave of technology innovation will change the way humans interact with computers,” Mr Do said.

“We are incorporating computer-based activities not only into the way we work, learn and communicate, but also into the way we relax, socialise and entertain ourselves.

“The next step is to enhance these experiences by making the way we interact with computers more lifelike.”

The system has received excited reviews from technology journalists, who have seen a prototype in action at the show.

Emotiv said its system worked by detecting electrical activity generated by brain cells, known as neurons, using a process known as electroencephalography. Similar technology is used in hospitals to detect epilepsy and sleep disorders in patients.

The company’s interface captures and wirelessly transmits information about brain activity to a processor, allowing interaction with video games.

The more a person uses the technology, the more adept the system becomes at recognising the person’s intentions and emotions.

US reports suggested children took to the system more quickly than adults who were less able to engage in fantasy.

When users play a game using the Emotiv interface, 15 sensors detect their brain activity.

After a series of training sessions most people are able to move objects in a virtual world through force of will. The sensors also pick up on facial expressions such as smiles, grimaces and winks, portraying them on the face of the player’s avatar – their on-screen representation.

The sensors are also said to be able to detect emotions such as fear and excitement.

Meanwhile, a German company has unveiled an interface to allow users to compose messages on their personal computers and play simple games using only their brains.

The Guger Technologies device works along similar lines to the Emotiv system, monitoring brain activity.