Imagine driving a car and listening to music that changes according to mood, or having a technology that alerts the driver when they are drowsy while behind the wheel.
This is one of the many potential applications of NeuroSky’s products. The company, based in San Jose, Calif., has spearheaded the growth of brain-computer interface technology by the development of special headsets.
From entertainment to the medical field, education to automotive safety, brain interface technology has a wide spectrum of applications for the future, said Tansy Brook, the corporate spokesperson for the company.
“There are a lot of other industries that can benefit from this technology now that we have made it more cost effective and user friendly,” Brook said.
In the past, the cost of BCI technology was more than $40,000, but its reproduced and sold for approximately $200. These NeuroSky headsets are not medical grade but contain a lot of information used for wider audience applications.
“I think that it holds a lot of interesting potential,” engineering student Timothy Schleusener said. “I’m not an expert by any means, but getting a machine to recognize the subtle distinction between similar physical actions is going to be incredibly difficult, maybe even impossible for many years yet.”
BCI technology originated from the use of brain sensors used in the medical lab. But it involved a physical laboratory, the presence of experienced clinicians, the application of a conductive gel on the still and quiet subject and dark, silent rooms to filter out the “noise.”
Brook said this reduction noise, produced by distractions such as lights, eye blinks, jaw and muscle movements, etc., is critical because brain waves, unlike heartbeats, are the faintest electrical signals found in the body.
The headsets developed by NeuroSky block out high-pitch frequencies and monitor the electrical signals emanating from the brain. And without the restriction of a laboratory, NeuroSky’s products are freely outside the laboratory, lending it to greater and more varied situations.
NeuroSky has many partners that are working to employ BCI into products for the future. There are a “lot of ‘wow’ factors in our company,” said Brook, who sees the potential applications of BCI leading to many quality of life improvements. She said one of the greatest rewards is the ability to help many different people, from ALS and Alzheimer’s patients to children with ADD and Autism.
The medical industry has implemented this technology for years and does not cause any negative impacts from user operation. But there is an issue in the implementation. And in reality, the technology has many potential benefits. Like the Internet, it can be employed for negative purposes.
NeuroSky plans to develop its products through the addition of multiple sensors on the brain, as opposed to its current single sensor. Being able to tap into sensors from other areas of the brain would allow for greater potential with the technology.
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