While the way we use computers has been steadily evolving over the course of the last few decades — software is more powerful and easier to use, interfaces are constantly refined to make people more productive, and hardware is simplified while being made faster — the way we interact with them hasn’t changed much. Just like the old electric typewriters that used to hum quietly on desks across the world, we still type on regular keyboards, and using a mouse to point to items on the screen still requires that we take a hand off the keyboard and reach for it.

Australia-based Emotiv aims to change all that, starting with the way gamers control their videogames. Their new project, named “Project Epoc”, was demoed at GDC this year. Basically, it’s a lightweight helmet full of electrodes that monitor the electromagnetic signals released by your brain, and interpret those signals to control the game you’re playing.

Like other intuitive computer interfaces such as speech recognition systems, Project Epoc requires you to train it for a while before it really works properly. You have to think about doing an action while performing that action with another controller (such as a standard gamepad) so that the helmet can “learn” what your brainwaves look like when you do it. Eventually, though, the brain waves are all that are required — and suddenly you’re able to control the computer with your mind.

While Project Epoc isn’t available to the public yet, Emotiv launched their developer’s kit yesterday, allowing gaming technology companies to begin learning to incorporate this fascinating technology into their future games. It may take a while until these start showing up on the shelves of your local Best Buy, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that when they do, they truly live up to the hype and revolutionize the way we use computers.

You can learn more about Project Epoc at the Emotiv website.

[Via New Scientist - OhGizmo]

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