BYU Students Take Eye Control to the Next Level

Okay, I'm sure you all remember when I posted about the awesome eye-controlled laptop from Tobii a while back, right? If you don't, you can always scroll down a bit and have a look.

Well, now some students from BYU are taking eye-control technology it a step further by adding something that's really needed in the EC market - affordablility.  You see, even Tobii's system, the PCEye is considered to be inexpensive in the EC market, and it costs a whopping $6,900. Let's face it, that's not something most people with the types of disabilities these systems are designed for can afford.

So, the students from BYU partnered up with EyeTech Digital Systems and created a Windows 7 tablet PC using eye tracking software developed by previous students (also partnered with EyeTech Digital). This was all part of their year-long capstone engineering requirement. The tablet is a bit thicker than usual, but only cost them $1,500. When you consider that an ordinary Windows 7 tablet retails for around $750, that's really not bad!

The eye tracking software uses a camera to track where a user is looking. This allows a user to control the cursor simply by moving their gaze around a screen. Blinking will perform a mouse click.  The tablet will run any Windows program, from Solitare to Skype, and EyeTech Digital plans to market the technology as an alternative to the sophisticated systems that are already out there.

And hey, at that price, even tech enthusiasts like me could consider buying one. I can definitely see the possibilities.

The Real-Life Data?

Meet Geminoid DK, a Geminoid-F series android, and the first humanoid robot of its kind to leave Japan.  It is also the most human-looking android I have ever seen (sorry Star Trek fans - Data doesn't count).

 

That's right folks - that's an android in the picture above.

The Geminoid series of androids was created by Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro, director of the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory in the the Department of Adaptive Machine Systems at Osaka University.  The original version, Repliee Q1Expo was created in 2005.  Though older, Repliee Q1Expo is actually a much more complicated version of Geminoid-K, as it can respond to human interactions such as touch.

The Geminoid-F is controlled through a computer system designed to mimic the movements of the android's human counterpart.  It does not have an artificial intelligence of it's own, and does not have voice interaction yet.  However, it is the simplicity of the Geminoid-F model that made it affordable for purchase by Aalborg University's Henrik Sharfe.  Once shipped back to Denmark, the robot will be used to study questions about identity, humanity, and presence, as well as the cultural differences in perception of robots and robotic technology.

If you head on over to this site  you can see a video of this thing opening and closing it's mouth, moving it's head, and even breathing.  That's right - breathing.  Pretty amazing stuff, and I look forward to seeing the future uses and possibilities for this technology in the future.  Imagine teaching children on the autism spectrum to better interact socially using androids like these.  I see a world of possibilities here.

Move Over Motion-Control

Forget motion controlled systems that still use a controller like the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation Move.  Heck, you can even forget about motion controlled systems that require you to wave your hand or other parts of your body, like Microsoft's Kinect.  The next generation of motion control is already on it's way.

Picture this: you're playing an FPS (or other first-person view game) and instead of pushing a control stick or keyboard button to move down the next path all you do is *look* in the direction you want to go.  Imagine reading a webpage that automatically scrolls as you read - no mouse or keyboard action required.  Sound interesting?  Then check this out:

The folks at Tobii teamed up with Lenovo to create 20 prototypes of this Windows 7 laptop that they unveiled yesterday at the CeBIT conference in Hanover, Germany.  That strip just below the screen is the current eye-control sensor, and there's also a large hump on the back.  Neither is attractive or practical, but it is just a prototype.  Future plans entail the sensor becoming much more narrow - about the size of the small space below the laptop screen today.  If you'd like a review of how it it performed (I'll give you a hit: excellently) head on over to Endgadget and check out their video of the laptop in action.


Between the new BCI technology and this new eye-control system, we are two steps closer to synchronicity.  The future is coming!  Are you ready?

The Future Is Here - BCI Technology

Who out there hasn't read a novel or seen a movie that features some sort of BCI technology?  It seems that ever since the invention of the computer, humans have been fascinated with elusive Brain-Computer Interface and how it could make our lives better.  Cyberpunk novels and comics abound with tales of BCI technology, even going as far as to take it beyond EEG-style headsets to "wetware" - computers implanted directly into the human brain.

Today, both technologies are becoming a reality.  First, for the "dryware" BCI technology, check out the EPOCH - the newest BCI interface headset from the folks over at Emotive.

  According to the company's website:

The Emotiv EPOC is a high resolution, neuro-signal acquisition and processing wireless neuroheadset.  It uses a set of sensors to tune into electric signals produced by the brain to detect player thoughts, feelings and expressions and connects wirelessly to most PCs.

 Imagine a paraplegic being able to control their own wheelchair.  What about creating art and music using your mind alone?  Or what about controlling your favorite games through mind-power alone?  This device could make all that possible.  The best part about it is the EPOC only costs $300, and comes with the EmoKey software to link Emotiv technology to your applications for free.  Sound interesting and exciting?  Check it out over at their website.

Now for the "wetware": two different types of BCI technology are undergoing testing at the University of Pittsburgh for use with spinal cord injury patients.  In the first, a BCI will be placed on the patient's monitor cortex surface for up to 29 days.  The device will pick up the patient's neural activity and hopefully allow them to learn how to control assistive devices such as a wheelchair or prosthetic hand.  The second uses an array of tiny electrodes implanted on the surface of the brain to interpret individual neuron activity and hopefully allow patients to control a more sophisticated prosthetic arm.

The technology of the future is here folks.  Just imagine the possibilities for the years to come.