Mind-controlled VR games; A neurotechnology company called Cogitat is developing a system. That can translate human brain activity into activities without physical movements.
If you have a prototype headset, you can perform basic actions in virtual reality by thinking about them.
So, for example, in a game where a VR jetski is controll by handles. You move by thinking about it rather than squeezing it with your hands.
Elon Musk’s company Neuralink is developing a similar idea.
This is called brain-computer interface and is being investigate by many neurotechnology companies.
One goal is to allow people. Who have suffered a stroke or other brain injury to remotely control their phones or computers.
Neuralink’s method involves inserting a chip into the brain itself. So far, the company has only work with animals and has been criticize for their treatment. He released videos claiming to show a monkey playing the video game Pong with his mind. Chipping the brain activity of a pig into its brain.
Cogitat is one of those companies that is developing a system that works on top of your head, not inside.
mind-controlled VR games; One day, it could take the form of a headband worn with a VR Headset. Some companies already make their own hardware, but as a graduate school, Cogitat focuses only on the technology behind it.
It is led by NHS consultant Allan Ponniah and computer scientist Dimitrios Adamos from Imperial College London.
The technology is in the Development Stage, but it has already been test on stroke patients with positive results. The goal is to make them more attractive to encourage them to continue the rehabilitation exercises.
“When a person has had a stroke and can’t move their arm, it’s very discouraging to participate in rehabilitation. But our technology allows them to imagine moving their hand. See a hand moving on the screen, which we think that it will encourage him. Then I’ll start studying physiotherapy,” Ponniah told the AZ24 News podcast Tech Tent.
Weird experience
I tried it and it’s a very strange experience. For starters, it’s harder than it sounds to think you’re doing exercise without actually doing it. You also have to try not to think about other things. Which increases brain activity and creates more noise for the technology to decode while looking for the motor signal.
Never before had I seen my own brain activity in real time on the screen in front of me as a complex multi-layered electrocardiogram. That in itself was strange—seeing the essence of my thoughts on a graph. But when you hear the VR Jet ski machine screeching just because you thought about doing it, it’s an amazing feeling.
Of course, the prototype device didn’t quite read my mind. It wasn’t a translation of my thoughts or looking deep into my soul. It focused only on indicators of motor skills.
“If you choose not to interact with the system, nothing happens,” says Adamos. “Nothing is record if you stop using it.”
Other Companies Focus on different types of brain activity—like visual cues. So you can focus on a number and press buttons on the screen. It is also possible—but controversial—to focus on more personal responses such as likes and dislikes.
mind-controlled VR Games; Cogitat says it expects to have a working prototype of its technology within the next 12 months — but the neurotech faces some challenges.
Experts are still learning about how the brain works. This is individual for each of us and not permanent. It changes throughout the day and can be affect by factors such as fatigue and dehydration, as well as aging. This means that any brain activity reading system requires constant recalibration.
Cogitat trains its technology on a database of hundreds of volunteers who have tested it, speeding up the calibration process. I met a few people in the crowd – mostly students, who were very enthusiastic, not to mention patient, as they guided me through the presentation.
Mr. Adamos is proud to say that in a recent international machine learning competition, Cogitat not only won first place, but also defeated a team from the US military.
He offered everyone some time off to celebrate – but no one took it.
“They were all in the next day,” he says. “It’s very impressive for us and for everyone involved in this journey.
