Brain waves take picture with Google Glass add-on
LONDON -- The basic hardware for mind control turns out to be an $80-dollar headset, some software and a pair of Google Glasses.
With this set-up a user should be able to take a picture just by thinking.
Ben Aldred and Chloe Kirton work for the London software company called This Place.
They were intrigued by the tiny camera in Google Glass that's normally activated by either touch or voice commands.
But, they wondered if it could it triggered by brain power alone.
"So literally, your brain waves. Those signals are higher if you're concentrating and they are lower if you're relaxing," says Kirton.
In the company's video, a woman looks at some graffiti through Google Glass. As she concentrates on any idea, a white line moves up to the top of the image and a picture is taken.
The woman actually triggers the camera with her brain waves.
Science has known about these electrical waves since the electroencephalograph (EEG) was invented in the 1920s. But only recently have researchers been able to harness them to control prosthetic limbs, wheelchairs and even computer games.
Then, it was my turn to demonstrate mind of matter. I attempted to take a picture of my cameraman. As I was concentrating harder and harder, the picture was taken.
The team believes their software can change lives. They've made it public so developers around the world can brainstorm with them.
