Mind-Controlled Toys: A New Era In Playtime
Researchers from the University of Warwick recently suggested that the next generation of toys that we are going to see are going to be those which are controlled by the power of the mind.
More specifically, they predict that what we are going to see is a growing trend in toys that we will be able to connect with, toys can be activated by using electrical impulses from brain waves. It's imaged that many of the toys that are already on the market, like toy robots, remote-controlled cars etc, have the potential to be controlled from a headset with just the power of thoughts.
Sensors in the headset would be able to measure the individual's electrical impulses from the brain at various frequencies. This electrical activity would then be processed by a computer and then transferred/fed into the electrical circuit of the toy. There are some headsets on the market already which exist with this technology but there is a lot of room for growth. Although, they are getting much better at this technology and they're making fast improvements.
How far might this technology go? Perhaps it won't be long before we see this technology extend to being used for even daily activities like answering the phone, compose and play music, create a 3D object (by imagining it!), move a wheelchair, and more. There are even developments for a mind-controlled car.
Just a few years ago we saw the Star Wars The Force Trainer game come out and then last year we got to see the improved use of the technology with a mind-controlled Star Wars BB-8 droid, visitors to this year's CES in Vegas were able to play the updated Star Wars Science Force Trainer 2 Brain-Sensing Hologram Electronic Game by using an EEG headset.
There are now a number of different electronic devices available that you can control with your mind: Mindset, Mindflex, Orbit Helicopter, EPOC, and others.
Toys for children (and adults) have certainly come a long way. I remember the days of playing with pogs, metal jacks, pick up sticks, heck.. I remember just playing outside with the dirt and my imagination. What an amazing time that we are living in, where flying cars, jet packs, and mind-controlled games have really become a reality.
Thought-controlled toys are suggested to be one of the more popular christmas items that we might see at the end of this year. Carrying-on the tech toy trend that we saw at the end of last year, when most people went with tech gifts for their loved ones for the holidays.
Below is a video showing a group of students who were successfully able to program and make a remote controlled car move by using only their thoughts.
Pics:
pixabay
amazon
pinterest
Sources:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/12/161215105247.htm
http://www.theverge.com/ces/2017/1/6/14187072/force-trainer-hologram-brain-control-headset-ces-2017
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/pogue-6-electronic-devices-you-can-control-with-your-thoughts/
http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/brain-controlled-gadgets/
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304707604577426251091339254
http://www.thecarconnection.com/news/1101329_chinese-scientists-are-developing-a-mind-controlled-car
That is amazing. But the thing that has me really excited is this kind of stuff is going to really help people with prosthetics in the future...
This is perfect, I love it. I have heard stories about things like this but never actually seen anything, and now I have!
Thank you for sharing this, it would be pretty cool to get my hands on one.
~ @Timbo
What an awesome post.
Amazing what human can do thank you very much dear friend @doitvoluntarily for this magnificent post
I am indeed looking forward to see what the future will be :)
This would be a fun way to control a drone. Pretty amazing stuff.
Do you happen to know what sensors are most commonly used in these toys? This concept is not new. I came across a sensor company about 9 years ago that offered this technology in a couple of toys. I remember one of the toys was a mind-controlled plastic call in a tube. You can use your "focus" to move the ball up the tube. It seemed to be a cool concept at first glance, but it got boring after 5 minutes of playing with it.
We have the Mindflex game. My husband is a chiropractor and he has loaned it to one of his patients who is 10 years old and has concentration problems. We are hoping that it will help him focus his thoughts. Time will tell. Thanks for sharing! We will check out those other toys.