Direct Brain-to-Game Interface Worries Scientists

NeuroSky’s headset technology is being used in tandem with a software development kit to create BCI-based games. The first titles are expected to hit store shelves in 2008.

That might sound pretty awesome, but the prospect of brain-controlled virtual joysticks has some scientists worried that games might end up controlling our brains.

Several makers of brain-computer interfaces, or BCIs — devices that facilitate operating a computer by thought alone — claim the technology is poised to jump from the medical sector into the consumer gaming world in 2008.

Companies including Emotiv Systems and NeuroSky say they’ve released BCI-based software-development kits. Gaming companies may release BCI games next year, but many scientists worry that users brains’ might be subject to negative effects.

For example, the devices sometimes force users to slow down their brain waves. Afterward, users have reported trouble focusing their attention.

“Imagine that somebody uses a game with slow brain-wave activity and then drives a car while still in that state,” says Niels Birbaumer, a leading independent researcher in medical applications of BCIs. “You could have an accident. I think it’s a rare possibility, but it should be tested before people do this.”

Consumer BCIs use noninvasive electroencephalogram (EEG) sensors attached to the scalp to detect brain-wave patterns. The signals are amplified and digitized, so a computer can process the information.

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