George Orwell
2007-04-30 14:11:08 UTC
Chicago Tribune - April 30, 2007
Technology from NeuroSky http://www.neurosky.com/ and other start-ups
could make video games more mentally stimulating and realistic. It
might even enable players to control video game characters or avatars
in virtual worlds with nothing but their thoughts.
Adding biofeedback to "Tiger Woods PGA Tour," for instance, could mean
that only those players who muster Zen-like concentration could nail a
putt. In the popular "Grand Theft Auto," players who become nervous or
frightened would have worse aim than those who remain relaxed and
focused.
NeuroSky's prototype measures a person's baseline brain-wave activity,
including signals that relate to concentration, relaxation and anxiety.
The technology ranks performance in each category on a scale of 1 to
100; the numbers change as a person thinks about relaxing images,
focuses intently, or gets kicked, interrupted or otherwise distracted.
The technology is similar to more sensitive, expensive equipment that
athletes use to achieve peak performance. Koo Hyoung Lee, a NeuroSky co-
founder from South Korea, used biofeedback to improve concentration and
relaxation techniques for members of his country's Olympic archery team.
"Most physical games are really mental games," said Lee, also chief
technology officer at San Jose-based NeuroSky, a 12-employee company
founded in 1999. "You must maintain attention at very high levels to
succeed. This technology makes toys and video games more lifelike."
Toys with the most basic brain wave-reading technology are to debut
later this year.
But it's unclear whether consumers, particularly American kids, want
mentally taxing games.
"It's hard to tell whether playing games with biofeedback is more fun --
the company executives say that, but I don't know if I believe them,"
said Ben Sawyer, director of the Games for Health Project, a division
of the Serious Games Initiative.
The husband-and-wife team behind CyberLearning Technology LLC took a
different approach. The San Marcos-based start-up targets doctors,
therapists and parents of adolescents with autism, impulse control
problems and other pervasive developmental disorders.
CyberLearning also is selling the SmartBrain system for the original
PlayStation, PS2 and original Xbox, and it will soon work with the
PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The EEG- and EMG-based biofeedback system
costs about $600, not including the game console or video games.
Kids who play the race car video game "Gran Turismo"
http://snipurl.com/gran_turismo with the SmartBrain system can only
reach maximum speed when they're focused. If attention wanes or players
become impulsive or anxious, cars slow to a chug.
Technology from NeuroSky http://www.neurosky.com/ and other start-ups
could make video games more mentally stimulating and realistic. It
might even enable players to control video game characters or avatars
in virtual worlds with nothing but their thoughts.
Adding biofeedback to "Tiger Woods PGA Tour," for instance, could mean
that only those players who muster Zen-like concentration could nail a
putt. In the popular "Grand Theft Auto," players who become nervous or
frightened would have worse aim than those who remain relaxed and
focused.
NeuroSky's prototype measures a person's baseline brain-wave activity,
including signals that relate to concentration, relaxation and anxiety.
The technology ranks performance in each category on a scale of 1 to
100; the numbers change as a person thinks about relaxing images,
focuses intently, or gets kicked, interrupted or otherwise distracted.
The technology is similar to more sensitive, expensive equipment that
athletes use to achieve peak performance. Koo Hyoung Lee, a NeuroSky co-
founder from South Korea, used biofeedback to improve concentration and
relaxation techniques for members of his country's Olympic archery team.
"Most physical games are really mental games," said Lee, also chief
technology officer at San Jose-based NeuroSky, a 12-employee company
founded in 1999. "You must maintain attention at very high levels to
succeed. This technology makes toys and video games more lifelike."
Toys with the most basic brain wave-reading technology are to debut
later this year.
But it's unclear whether consumers, particularly American kids, want
mentally taxing games.
"It's hard to tell whether playing games with biofeedback is more fun --
the company executives say that, but I don't know if I believe them,"
said Ben Sawyer, director of the Games for Health Project, a division
of the Serious Games Initiative.
The husband-and-wife team behind CyberLearning Technology LLC took a
different approach. The San Marcos-based start-up targets doctors,
therapists and parents of adolescents with autism, impulse control
problems and other pervasive developmental disorders.
CyberLearning also is selling the SmartBrain system for the original
PlayStation, PS2 and original Xbox, and it will soon work with the
PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The EEG- and EMG-based biofeedback system
costs about $600, not including the game console or video games.
Kids who play the race car video game "Gran Turismo"
http://snipurl.com/gran_turismo with the SmartBrain system can only
reach maximum speed when they're focused. If attention wanes or players
become impulsive or anxious, cars slow to a chug.