This week in the news roundup: intersections between art, wearable devices, the human-computer urban landscape, articulating that relationship, and more. In Toronto we’re coming out of a 7-day stretch of muggy, rainy, and all around miserable weather. The type of weather that makes you want to curl up, watch a movie, drink a hot beverage, and maybe….play video games? And video games’ the word, with massive product releases coming from our friends at NeuroSky and Emotiv. As thought controlled computing hits the consumer realm, how this wearable technology impacts our urban environment, and how we interact with it through technology, it a big point of discussion. Read more after the jump.
1// Thought Controlled Gaming Hits The Consumer Market
In 2011, InteraXon introduced the brainwave-enabled Zen Bound 2 for iPad at CES. The game could be played using a custom EEG headset, and was developed in partnership with the mobile gaming company Secret Exit.
This week The Wall Street Journal, Sharp Brains, BetaBeat and dozens of other websites reported this: an expanding ecosystem of mind-controlled gaming has been released by companies including friends NeuroSky and Emotiv. Mixing fun with relaxation, these brainwave controlled games also include an extensive list of long term health benefits. Some of these games help with an increased concentration level, as an educational aid for children with ADHD, as a meditative aide, and to decrease stress and the onset of stress-related illnesses. And did we mention fun?
2// Keynote to Address The “Human-Computer City Interface” At Sensors Expo & Conference
Starting June 6th, the Sensors Expo & Conference addresses the changing shape of sensor technologies, the impact in sensor-related fields, and how this is a build block for many future innovations. At this years conference, a keynote by Assaf Biderman titled ‘A Human Computer City Interface’. His opening keynote to the conference addresses how our changing experiences in an urban environment open up a pathway for new innovations and connections:
“With the global move toward urbanization, and given the challenges that cities face—environmental impact, energy consumption, transportation—such opportunities have become particularly relevant. In this keynote, Assaf Biderman presents a view of the role sensors and other data capturing methods can play in making new connections between people and the built environment as a way to address some of today’s more pressing urban challenges.”
Read the full press release here
3// Call For Submissions: “Tools For Brain Computer Interaction”
The 2012 International Conference on Neurorehabilitation, taking place in Spain in November, has issued a call for papers to appear at the conference. The selected papers may address topics in the field of neurscience and neurorehabilitation. The conference also addresses the use of brain computer interfaces in this rehabilitation process.
The abstract submission was opened on June 1st, and the deadline is July 1st. For more details, visit the ICNR website.
And just for fun…
4// OCAD U’s Social Body Lab Explores Wearable Technologies
The Social Body Lab, an interdisciplinary research lab at OCAD U that discusses the relationship between the body and technology, was recently featured in The New York Times. The lab creates works with cross-interdisciplinary hybrid prototypes of technology into clothing, and Professor Kate Hartman was quoted by NYT for the labs’ amazing headway in wearable technologies and electronics. One such example is the Audience Jacket, a jacket that responds to and amplifies the sound of your clapping. Beyond the interesting approach the lab takes to its work, this intersection of computer science, art, and the body is a statement on how we interact with, come to terms with, and learn about the world around us through the technology we use.
See Professor Kate Hartman’s TED Talk on how wearable technologies help us learn about the world, ourselves…
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The InteraXon news roundup is published weekly, every Sunday night, to recap trends and breaking news in the world of brain computer interfaces and thought controlled computing. Do you have a story you’d like to submit or share? Contact us at info@interaxon.ca (subject line “News Story”) or leave a comment here.
