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Watch Tan Le’s “A headset that reads your brainwaves” demo at TED

Tan Le’s astonishing new computer interface reads its user’s brainwaves, making it possible to control virtual objects, and even physical electronics, with mere thoughts (and a little concentration). She demos the headset, and talks about its far-reaching applications […]

Tan Le’s astonishing new computer interface reads its user’s brainwaves, making it possible to control virtual objects, and even physical electronics, with mere thoughts (and a little concentration). She demos the headset, and talks about its far-reaching applications.

Tan Le is the co-founder and president of Emotiv Systems, a firm that’s working on a new form of remote control that uses brainwaves to control digital devices and digital media. It’s long been a dream to bypass the mechanical (mouse, keyboard, clicker) and have our digital devices respond directly to what we think. Emotiv’s recently released EPOC headset uses 16 sensors to listen to activity across the entire brain. Software “learns” what each user’s brain activity looks like when one, for instance, imagines a left turn or a jump.

Neuroscientists have expressed varying views about Emotiv’s headset and technology — electrical activity in the brain is notoriously difficult to decode — but it does work. It is a natural for gaming, where ever more complex environments demand more complex inputs. But it’s also a potential gamechanger for accessibility apps, such as steering a wheelchair. Le herself has an extraordinary story — a refugee from Vietnam at age 4, she entered college at 16 and has since become a vital young leader in her home country of Australia.

via Tan Le: A headset that reads your brainwaves | Video on TED.com.

By Itamar Medeiros

Originally from Brazil, Itamar Medeiros currently lives in Germany, where he works as VP of Design Strategy at SAP and lecturer of Project Management for UX at the M.Sc. Usability Engineering at the Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences .

Working in the Information Technology industry since 1998, Itamar has helped truly global companies in multiple continents create great user experience through advocating Design and Innovation principles. During his 7 years in China, he promoted the User Experience Design discipline as User Experience Manager at Autodesk and Local Coordinator of the Interaction Design Association (IxDA) in Shanghai.

Itamar holds a MA in Design Practice from Northumbria University (Newcastle, UK), for which he received a Distinction Award for his thesis Creating Innovative Design Software Solutions within Collaborative/Distributed Design Environments.

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