Sunnyvale (CA) - Brain-controlled input devices appear to become the most interesting exotic gaming technology this year: Following the announcement of the Emotiv EPOC, performance memory maker OCZ today said that it is about to ship the first Brain-Computer-Interface product.
OCZ's "Neural Impulse Actuator" (NIA) looks less futuristic than the EPOC, but it apparently will offer a similar feature set. OCZ has not mentioned details yet, but the company claims that users will be able to control video games using the NIA, while only "minimal use" of a mouse will be required.
The manufacturer does not view the NIA as a replacement for the mouse, but rather as a new "peripheral [that is] designed to provide an immersive experience for gamers".
"Advances in hardware and software allow today's games to offer consumers an exceptional entertainment experience, and we wanted to take the next step by immersing gamers into these environments with the innovative new NIA," stated Ryan Petersen, CEO of OCZ, in a prepared statement. "The NIA radically changes the ways that gamers can interact and control elements within games, and can be configured in a matter of minutes for any game that is already published or will be released."
Pricing has not been disclosed. However, the NIA should sell in the $300 range when it becomes available.
About 7 years ago we had read-only devices for DVDs. 5 years ago the DVD burners were becoming mainstream. Now we have read-only devices for brains. Should we expect cheap brain burners on the market by 2011? I can see lots of applications for those. Easier to get votes, dates, cheap labor, well-behaved children...
