Photo by Neurable

Boston-based startup Nervous Bringing Brain-Controlled VR Video Games Awakeningwill be the first to be introduced to VR arcades worldwide by the end of this year, the company claims.

This Brain Computer Interface (BCI) is made possible by attaching the HTC Vive VR headset to a brain scanning headband with electrodes that detect neural activity by recording electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. When a gamer gazes at an in-game object, Neurable’s machine learning software recognizes changes in her EEG signal and translates this into game commands to select which object to use.

For this to work, gamers go through a training process before playing, but it’s Neurable’s software that actually needs to be trained, as it needs to learn the patterns of neuron firing shown in the EEG. , indicating that the gamer is focused. specific object. This pattern is known as an event-related potential (ERP) and is essentially the total firing of many adjacent neurons.

For the time being, the process of overcoming Awakening‘s dystopian world doesn’t get much more complicated than shifting your attention from one item to another. It is necessary to focus on the object and “pick it up”.

The company unveiled its technology for the first time at last year’s trade show. ACM SigraphI want many people to experience technology. This is how the device looks and feels to those who have tested it.

Story is so simple Awakening Rather than being an actual video game with a story, it serves as a demonstration of Neurable’s BCI technology. In an interview with IEEE Spectrum’s Eliza Strickland, Neurable co-founder and CEO Ramses Alcaide said:We are not game designers. I don’t know how to guide the player in these environments. For this reason, the company has released developer kits that game designers can use in their creations. But if their tech doesn’t see immediate adoption in the gaming niche, there’s no reason for the company to worry: VR gaming is just the first application of his Neurable’s tech, according to Alcaide.

Further research and development are required to increase the complexity of . Awakening, allowing objects to be moved at the gamer’s discretion after selection, etc. Its creators also intend to reduce headband electrodes and eventually house a single EEG sensor in earbuds, making brain-monitoring technology more compact.