NextMind, a Paris-based
brain-computer interface (BCI) startup, debuted a $400 neural interface dev
kit. NextMind’s device is a non-invasive electroencephalogram (EEG), which is a
well established method of measuring the voltage fluctuations of neurons from
outside the skull. EEGs have been used in medicine, neurology, cognitive
science, and a number of related fields too, although unlike more invasive
methods out there you might describe it as metaphorically trying to figure out
what’s happening in a stadium by listening to the crowd’s roar.
Attaching to the back of the head
with a simple forehead strap, eight prong-like electrodes pick up brain waves
from the visual cortex. The wireless device communicates via Bluetooth, and
does a portion of the processing on-device whilst offloading the machine
learning tasks to the same PC driving the VR experience. The company is
pitching a number of use cases, one of which was its potential application in
VR headsets. It’s clear that the next generations of VR headsets are heading
down the path of integrated eye-tracking though, EEG data being able to work in
concert.
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