Mind controlled Google Glass
No hands, no voice, just thoughts.
I have been a Google Glass ‘user’ for a few months now. By that I mean I thought it was cool, played around with it for a few days, and then put it in a draw and forgot about it. My thoughts drifted on to other wearables. The potential of Google Glass, in my mind, stalled for a while.
But now, thanks to an open source project by This Place, I’m well and truly intrigued by the future of Google Glass again. They’ve developed a way to control Google Glass through the power of thought. No touching, no awkward voice controls, just think of what you want to do and away you go.
It’s still very much a proof of concept / prototype at the moment, with functionality limited to just taking pictures and sharing them on Twitter or Facebook, but the potential is huge.
MindRDR connects Google Glass with a device to monitor brain activity, allowing users to take pictures and socialise them on Twitter or Facebook. No physical interaction required.
The Developers have open sourced the code base, and are encouraging others to pick up the baton and run with it. The code is hosted here on GitHub.
One of the main barriers to entry with wearables is the social awkwardness of talking to a piece of hardware. Since I’ve been wearing an Android Wear device I’ve found myself avoiding talking to it in public situations, I’m sure those on the train don’t want to hear me texting my wife.
Potential
If I could just think of the words, silently, in my own mind, then suddenly the potential for wearables to take off is huge. Of course it is very early days, and you have to wear a rather un-appealing sensor on your forehead, but the excitement is back. Google Glass, and indeed all wearables, could really leverage the power of thought.
I think the real opportunity comes when you start looking at those less fortunate people who suffer from disabilities impacting their movement and speech. People with locked-in syndrome could finally have a way of communicating with friends and family, this is something that could really change their lives. It’s an incredibly powerful thought, someone who hasn’t been able to communicate freely for so long may finally be able to interact in a way so many of us take for granted.
