The world’s first thought-controlled computer game could be launched by the end of the year.
A new headset being developed by an Australian company may soon replace joysticks and Wii handles.
The EPOC headset has 16 sensors which measure electrical activity in the brain, allowing players to push and pull objects on a screen just by thinking.
Despite scepticism among some experts, Emotiv – the Sydney-based company behind the headset – claims it has carried out pre-release tests which show that the electroencephalography process works.
Emotiv co-founders Allan Snyder, a neuroscientist and former Cambridge University research fellow, and Tan Le are confident the technology can take gaming from the Wii to the next stage.
Tan Le said: ‘This is the tip of the iceberg. There will be a convergence of gesture-based technology and the brain as a new interface – the Holy Grail is the mind.’
The theory behind the headset was predicted by Nintendo president Satoru Iwata at the video games industry’s annual E3 conference.
He said: ‘As soon as we think something in our brain, it will appear within a video game. You’ll probably need to wear a kind of hat or helmet or something.’
