Control Your Appliances With Your Mind

May 16, 2008 by JR Raphael | 1 comment

By JR Raphael
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

Prepare yourself for what may be the most powerful remote ever made: the mind-reading hat.

Scientists from Taiwan have just finished developing the first protocol of this thing. Aside from a rather obvious antenna jutting out the back, the hat looks stylish enough. But this baby isn’t about fashion; it’s about function. Inside, its electrodes can monitor the EEG signals from your brain and translate them into action.

So far, the hat’s been tested to read how alert users are and tell them whether they should be driving. But it’s the future possibilities that will blow your mind.

The researchers say they’ll eventually be able to have the hat sense your thoughts about appliances like your TV or computer, then act on them. So you could think, “I wish my TV would turn on,” and — boom! — it happens.

Coolness aside, the technology would have huge implications for people with disabilities who can’t physically get to their televisions to adjust them. The engineers are also looking at using the hats for medical monitoring and exercise training.

The hat operates on a completely wireless system, sending data via Bluetooth to a remote receiver. Its batteries can power it for two days before a recharge is needed.

The research was published in a medical journal called IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering. You can read more about it here.

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