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A Baseball Hat That Reads Your Mind

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Fri May 16, 2008 09:35 PM
from the better-faster-stronger dept.
esocid writes to tell us that researchers from Taiwan have created a new baseball cap complete with embedded bio-signal monitoring system. The purpose was to give a neural interface that could be useful in everyday life. "The cap contains five embedded dry electrodes on the wearer's forehead, and one electrode behind the left ear, that acquire EEG signals. Then, the EEG signals are wirelessly transmitted to a data receiver, where they are processed in real-time by a dual-core processor. The BCI system includes Bluetooth transmission for distances of 10m or less (e.g., for driving applications), as well as RF transmission for distances up to 600m (e.g., for potential sports applications). Next, the processed signals are transmitted back to the cap, where the data can be stored, displayed in real-time on a screen, or be used to trigger an audio warning, if necessary."
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  • by mrbluze (1034940) on Friday May 16 2008, @09:39PM (#23442386) Journal
    Why not a propeller-hat? At least that way we have something worth reading.
  • by chanrobi (944359) on Friday May 16 2008, @09:39PM (#23442388)
    sex sex sex sex sex (lameness filter)
  • by hampton (209113) on Friday May 16 2008, @09:39PM (#23442390)
    Well, other than the GIANT ANTENNA sticking out of it and the scotch tape behind the ear.
  • I used to wear a baseball hat.. for a while I even wore it sideways, or backwards. It was only after I stopped wearing it all together that I noticed how much people were treating me like an idiot. A few years later I discovered I was shorted sighted and got glasses and discovered another way to get people to instantly treat you differently. I hear that if you hold documents at arms length to read them people think you are older and treat you with more respect, haven't tried that one myself.

    So yeah, although you might have some magic baseball hat that makes you smarter, it's not going to matter much, people are still going to treat you like an invalid.

     
    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      I'm sorry, but someone who can't figure out how to wear a baseball hat IS an idiot.
      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        And it's because of fools like you that used cars salesmen will continue to wear business suits.

        • Damn. Who knew used car salesmen had mod points?
        • by owlnation (858981) on Saturday May 17 2008, @05:41AM (#23444350)
          We need to change perceptions. A baseball cap is, in fact, a symbol of relative freedom. A business suit -- well, specifically the tie -- is a symbol of modern slavery.

          The irony is that society perceives the tie to be a symbol of someone successful -- where in reality it's most usually a symbol of someone trapped by their own lack of creativity and intellect.

          A tie = a slave collar. The tie is otherwise the singular, most useless, garment on Earth.
    • Bring on the baseball hat wearing disses
      A sideways baseball cap says to the world: "I will never be anyone's boss!"
      A backwards baseball cap adds: "Me too! ...except for that idiot wearing his cap sideways!"

      Was that ok?
  • by mrbluze (1034940) on Friday May 16 2008, @09:45PM (#23442416) Journal

    The EEG obtains information arising largely from the cortex and the summation of millions of neuronal currents. It is inaccurate and not reliable enough for critical applications (any situation where 'backfiring' is a bad thing).

    As far as I am aware, the state of art of computer interpretation of EEG is only up to monitoring awareness and sleep and possibly detecting seizures, so this would be good for patients in hospitals & home in diagnosing epilepsy.

    Might be useful for train drivers or pilots, though, in detecting a sleeper-at-the-wheel.

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      so this would be good for patients in hospitals & home in diagnosing epilepsy.
      Agreed; I had to wear a home EEG fifteen years ago, complete with wires and paste all over my head, and a cassette recorder on my hip. This sounds much cleaner, and more socially acceptable.

  • Not likely (Score:3, Funny)

    by Todd Fisher (680265) on Friday May 16 2008, @09:46PM (#23442428) Homepage
    "The cap contains five embedded dry electrodes on the wearer's forehead"

    My head sweat will kill those electrodes in two lawn mowings. And that'll be just from the smell.

  • by Lichetano (1143789) on Friday May 16 2008, @09:52PM (#23442472)
    Other than the audio warning, this hat idea has a long way to go before it becomes useful. I guess you could make it zap you a little when you're looking at a girl way out of your league. Wait, this just turned into a geek-survival tool. This could work.
  • Luckily... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Looshi (1038712) on Friday May 16 2008, @09:52PM (#23442474)

    ...it won't be able to penetrate my tinfoil hat.

  • by thethibs (882667) on Friday May 16 2008, @09:54PM (#23442480) Homepage

    At long last we can get a direct reading of how many IQ points you lose when you put on a baseball hat—and how many more you lose when you wear it backward or sideways.

  • by therufus (677843) on Friday May 16 2008, @09:55PM (#23442488)
    ...wants to wirelessly hack the hat and fire electricity into their brain via the headwear.

    Think of it. You just spent a few hundred bucks on a hat and some smartass with a laptop keeps electronically jabbing you in the skull while you run through the park.

    I, for one, would laugh until my beverage escaped through my nose!
  • !parC hO (Score:4, Funny)

    by PPH (736903) on Saturday May 17 2008, @12:48AM (#23443378)
    I've got my cap on backwards!
  • by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 17 2008, @01:40AM (#23443592)
    You'll go to...

    Gryffindor...

      yay!
  • by fahrbot-bot (874524) on Saturday May 17 2008, @03:27AM (#23443966)
    Person Wearing Hat:
    • Guy:Oh ya, wearing this backward makes me look *cool*.
    • Gal:Does this hat make me look fat?

    By-the-way, the answers are: No (you look like a moron) and (sigh, not again) no.

    • Video Games.
    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      Borging ourselves might some day prove useful, but so far neither science fiction nor real life has shown this to be of much use beyond scientific curiosity and bragging rights.

      What science fiction have you been reading? Even a simple (but still out-of-reach technically) brain-computer interface has obvious uses - if a keyboard is useful, a BCI is useful. I hope technology progresses in my lifetime to the point that I can have a terminal emulator surgically implanted in my head.

      Furthermore, what reality d