How many ways can you turn on the lights The most common ways are turning a switch, clapping, or using a remote control. What about just by thinking about it
During the Winter Olympics in Canada this month, a Canadian company called "InteraXon" is doing an experiment, in which the Olympic "visitors use their brainwaves to control the lights at three major landmarks in Canada, such as Niagara Falls." "When people put on the headsets and find themselves increasing the brightness of the lights by just thinking about it, you can almost see their brains explode," says Trevor Coleman, the chief operating officer for InteraXon.
Software companies such as NeuroSky and Microsoft are pushing to make headphones that are able to translate the gamers' brainwaves into actions on screen.
All three locations, Toronto's CN Tower, Ottawa's Parliament Building, and Niagara Falls, have two chairs set up and each chair has its own headset for InteraXon's installation. "The headsets have an external probe that touches the wearer's forehead to measure the baseline brain activity. The chairs are rigged to offer tactile feedback as users enter the desired brain state."
Alpha waves, associated with relaxation, combined with beta waves, which relates to concentration, are measured by the headsets. When the users relax or focus their thoughts, the software translates such thoughts into commands that will change the lighting display of the sites. Sounds complicated Not so, says Coleman. "To achieve the beta state we ask users to focus on things like an object ahead and its details, while for an alpha response we ask them to take a deep breath and relax to let their mind go," he says. "But after a minute or two of trying it, we found most users no longer require the physical cues," says Coleman.
