OCZ's Brain Mouse Hits the Store

John Roller writes "Three months to the day since Slashdot originally received word that OCZ's "brain-mouse" — the Neural Impulse Actuator was ready for shipping, the first in-depth review of the device containing pictures of the retail packaging along with several videos have arrived on the internet. Overclock3D.Net got the first look at the device, and although it's still early days, they managed to play a game of "Pong" using only brain power. The article is only part one in a month-long log of using the device, but it's extremely interesting to see what the people who have pre-ordered the device can expect from it when it arrives on their doorsteps shortly."

Hurray?

[PunkOfLinux (870955)]

Hurrah? O.o
This sounds interesting, at least. I wonder if it works on linux. Seriously. Does it work as a standard HID device?

Re:

[bloodninja (1291306)]

I wondered this myself, but the screenshots on the 3rd page make me think that it doesn't...

They had a "calibration" option, and the application "profile" option (that has the word "joystick" on it).

So out of the box Linux support doesn't look promising...

Exactly what I was thinking. It includes a driver CD, so even if it is HID it will not be fully functional out of the box with Linux. Here's the page where you contact OCZ and let them know that we want Linux support for this thing:
http://www.ocztechnology.com/contact/ [ocztechnology.com]

Re:Hurray?

[Fred_A (10934)]

All the mice work fine in Linux.

Something else. That's not a given. I once (before I switched to wireless rodents) plugged in a wired Microsoft mouse into my machine.

Well, it looked like it was behaving, but no sooner had I left my seat that it had leaped in /bin and it started trying to strangle cat(1).

Some hardware you just can't trust.

Brain-Mouse???

[by Anonymous Coward]

They're Pinky and the Brain, yes Pinky and the Brain;

One is a genius, the other's insane;

Two laboratory mice, their genes have been spliced;

Before each night is done their plan will be unfurled;

By the dawning of the sun they'll take over the world;

Their twilight campaign is easy to explain;

To prove their mousy worth, they'll take over the earth;

They're Pinky, They're Pinky and the Brain Brain Brain Brain Brain Brain Brain Brain Narf.

Great for non-gaming also

[conlaw (983784)]

Yes, this may help someone to do better in WOW or GTA IV but I'm thinking of some brilliant people whose bodies are hampered by cerebral palsy. Their main -- or sometimes only -- method of communication is through a computer which they may have trouble using because one or both of their hands is not fully functional. One of these units could make a major difference in their lives.

Here endeth the sermonizing.

Re:

[lawaetf1 (613291)]

True, this sort of tech could be incredibly liberating for someone with a neurological disorder. I expect, however, that we'll sooner see development in the porn and gaming industries. The demand is simply too huge.

The world of Fahrenheit 451 and/or the Matrix is already here for those who spend their time in front of MMORPGs, SecondLife, and the like. Once we can eliminate the need for our clumsy appendages in interacting with the make-believe we can take another willful nibble of the blue pill. It's

Head Mouse

[rednip (186217)]

Sorry, but this thing doesn't read minds, it measures movement in facial muscles, particularly in the eye brows. Many may find it useful because of a medical problem, cerebral palsy victims likely would, as fine grain muscle control is needed.

Perhaps it should be call a 'head mouse', or 'face mouse', as 'Brain Mouse' is misleading.

Re:Great for non-gaming also

[petermgreen (876956)]

That assumes that thier disorder doesn't affect thier speech too badly for speach recognition to work.

There are people who's only means of communication is using a blink movement or similar to select words as a computer scans a grid.

Re:

[Instine (963303)]

I used to work for a lawyer with severe cp and who had very garbled speech, and little use of his muscles. While it took most people some time to understand him, his SR software (Dragon Dictate) seemed no less accurate than with any other user. But he was just one example... There are those whose voice is not up to it. But this could well be a better interface for the guy I know re cursor movement and other 'pointer device' actions (he currently uses a head stick with great difficulty)

Neat, but...

[blindd0t (855876)]

This looks really neat, really promising, and is very exciting to see. It does make me think of a few questions though...

• It's not uncommon to use voice-chat while gaming. How is this device affected by those muscle movements and brain activity?
• I often eat and drink while at the PC (i.e. I was on lunch break while reading the article). How do those muscle movements affect the device?
• Given the two points above, is there any quick and easy means of temporarily disabling the device or ignoring the input from it? For example, a hot-key would work, or some head-phones have mute buttons built onto them. Of course, I don't expect it to be perfect, but something like that could help deal with its imperfections.
• What's the price of this thing?!
• How long from now until Hawking can kick our asses in a FPS? =P

Re:Neat, but...

[zsouthboy (1136757)]

The Mighty Steven Hawking is *already* a fucking quake master.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MC_Hawking [wikipedia.org]

Optimism

[foobsr (693224)]

From TFA: "Heading down to HQ, I knew the device would have limitations, but the little kid in me was imagining it granting me near-psychic powers. Unfortunately, after several hours of trying and still only being able to control one input, those limitations look to be greater than I thought. That being said though, I have every confidence that had I played with settings and kept the thing on my head for a few hours a day, I would learn to master more of the inputs and utilize them during gameplay. So if you are looking at buying the nia, I urge you to realize that you are buying a heavily scaled-down version of what you have envisaged." (emphasis mine)

Hmm, given that it lasts a couple of years with continuous martial arts training to establish a process approaching a near optimum with regards to 'naturally given/wired' I/O I still believe that it is appropriate not to be optimistic indeed.

CC.

Re:Optimism

[raddan (519638)]

Actually, I met a software developer for this device at a dinner recently. I, too was skeptical. He said that learning how to use the device takes quite a bit of practice-- because this is like an appendage you never knew you had-- but mainly because controlling things on-screen requires concentration. Basically the problem is this: we deal with distractions all the time; the human brain is really good at doing context switches. But when you wear this interface, those context switches (someone comes up behind you and says "Hi!") change the input to the device. You need to learn to control those state changes-- you can do it, but it takes practice. He assured me that after some practice, this becomes much easier.

As a side note-- this would be a great tool for learning how to beat polygraph exams! "Escape from Gitmo" for PS3 coming soon! ;^)

Re:

[shirai (42309)]

I take it that this is a lot like using a muscle you've never consciously used before. For example, when I first started taking dance lessons, I found it VERY hard to do things that seemed like they should be easy. Moving specific parts of your body in isolation is a lot harder than it should be. Especially if they are muscles you aren't used to using in your daily life.

Similarly, I think if these products ever become popular, there will be a generation of people who will find using them completely natural.

Stephen Hawking

[yorkrj (658277)]

I wonder if this would do any good for Stephen Hawking and others afflicted with ALS?

Link Page Down

[writerjosh (862522)]

Try these links instead: http://www.legitreviews.com/article/475/1/ [legitreviews.com] http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38413 [ocztechnologyforum.com]

Inside the NIA

[slifox (605302)]

For those interested in whats inside the OCZ NIA, AnandTech has a product teardown available

Anyone else have specific info on whats inside, etc? First thought that comes to me is, I want to make one myself!

Teardown Article:
http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=452 [anandtech.com]

Picture Gallery:
http://www.anandtech.com/Gallery.aspx?id=123 [anandtech.com]

I want this with a programmable interface

[infolib (618234)]

This thing is probably Very Nice (if it wasn't slashdotted) but I'd want to pass the raw output to my own data analysis algorithms. Why should it just be a gaming device? I guess it can double as a sleep rythm detector, or maybe I can tune it to work with me, instead of the other way around.

Re:

[Verteiron (224042)]

If someone read my mind they'd deserve every ounce of psychological trauma they received.

Seriously though, this device has nothing to do with mind-reading. It's not even capable of reading brainwaves like an EEG machine. It's just measuring electrical signals to muscles on your face.

Re:

[Kugrian (886993)]

"Stop winking at me!"

"I'm not - I'm trying to send an email!"

Seriously though, decades of keyboard and mouse usage have given me superhero-like fingers when compared to none computer users. Will extended use of this give me a face like a body builders chest?

Re:I have to wonder

[Lord Ender (156273)]

That's a bit like putting a thermometer next to your PC and saying, 'Today we can only tell if it is hot or cold, but someday, we may be able to read every bit on the computer using only the thermometer!'

Re:But can it play WoW?

[bloodninja (1291306)]

I am all for freedom from keyboard hunch

Why? You certainly don't need both hands for pr0n.

Re:But can it play WoW?

[BillGod (639198)]

CRAP.. what if you fall asleep with this thing? with my dreams who knows where the hell I will end up surfing!!!

Re:But can it play WoW?

[hords (619030)]

Just imagine waking up to goatse on your screen.

Re:

[dAzED1 (33635)]

cars have these things at your fingertips on the steering wheel in newer models; one doesn't need to look away from the road to find a knob, or even take their hands off the wheel. Check out a showroom for details ;)