The Tech Report has posted their review of the OCZ Neural Impulse Actuator (NIA), a device which allows you to control your PC with your mind. Don’t worry, you won’t have to stick any plugs in your head (at least not yet). The NIA is a non-intrusive headband integrated not only with an EEG, but also EMG and EOG technology. What this means is that not only can this device read some basic mental states, it can also sense various muscle movements, like of the jaw, or the eyes. The small plastic sensors on the band are embedded with conductive nanofibers, so you won’t have to shave your head or lube yourself up either.

The Neural Impulse Actuator is included with software drivers that allow you to map particular thoughts or actions to different keystrokes as well as view a real-time feed from your head. Potentially it could support any and every game out there, but you can’t map it to the mouse. Only keymapping is possible at the moment, so you will still need a mouse to look around. Even so, this could make for some interesting DIY experiments. The NIA retails for about $150, and is probably worth buying for bragging rights alone. I know I sure want one, and its nice to see OCZ releasing this product at a modest price point.

The reviewer over at The Tech Report didn’t necessarily give OCZ’s product the most glowing review, but surely an honest account. I do feel that it is somewhat incomplete, specifically that the EEG functionality was not tested at any length. That is arguably the main feature of the device; allowing the user to control a PC with thought alone. To me, the mouth and eye tracking seem like secondary features, although the review is a pretty good read otherwise.

link: OCZ’s Neural Impulse Actuator [TheTechReport]

Tags: Hardware, Human Interface //