So, I was at a conference last week in San Francisco where there were a number of panel discussions about neurogaming, and an expo demonstrating some of the recent hardware and software developments in the field. While there were many research and development teams involved in virtual reality, augmented reality, therapeutic games and educational games, there were also a surprising number of teams involved in biofeedback. In particular, the hardware to measure a certain type of brain activity (EEG) is now at a price point where it can be mass-marketed. A few companies have invested in developing (relatively) fashionable headbands that are able to detect certain brainwaves. These headbands can then be used either for feedback when playing neuro-therapeutic games or as an additional controller for games in the entertainment sector.
While these advances were given a predominantly positive reception at the conference, I was a bit concerned that this might be because we were "preaching to the choir" so I was hoping some of you guys might weigh in and let me know what you think. Do you see "wearables" such as EEG headbands, eye trackers, or heart rate monitors being a controller that you would ever use for recreation? Would it be fun to use brainwaves to control a computer game, does it sound a bit too much like a gimmick, or is it something that you would just never use?
While these advances were given a predominantly positive reception at the conference, I was a bit concerned that this might be because we were "preaching to the choir" so I was hoping some of you guys might weigh in and let me know what you think. Do you see "wearables" such as EEG headbands, eye trackers, or heart rate monitors being a controller that you would ever use for recreation? Would it be fun to use brainwaves to control a computer game, does it sound a bit too much like a gimmick, or is it something that you would just never use?
