EEG Your Ride Why settle for robotic chauffeurs when your brain can become part of the driv- ing system? German researchers found that combining driver EEG readings with computer-controlled braking sys- tems increased braking reaction time by 130ms, which makes a difference of almost 13 feet at 60mph. Car manufac- turers are already experimenting with NeuroSky EEG readers in headrests to combat snoozing at the wheel, so braking with a thought might not be far away.
makezine.com/go/eegcar —Craig Couden
Berlin Institute of Technology (EEG); Chris Jordan (Choscillator); Jeremy Blum (ZeoHack)
CHOSCILLATOR
Sean McIntyre invited attendees of Maker Faire New
York 2011 to play mental tug of war with a computer
through his interactive installation, the Choscillator,
made from a hacked Mattel Mindflex, a computer, and
a steel-frame chair. The computer alternates between
requesting the human to focus, then to relax, switching
when the requested state is achieved, thereby “mimicking
our relationship with new immersive technologies,” says
McIntyre. www.boxysean.com/projects/choscillator.html
—Goli Mohammadi
SLEEPERS
If you hung around Maker
Faire New York’s Health 2.0
pavilion last year, you probably saw Brian Schiffer’s brain
in action — literally.
Schiffer, an electrical engineering student at Cornell,
hacked a Zeo sleep monitor
(hidden in his fedora) to output real-time brain activity
via Bluetooth to an Android
tablet worn around his neck.
Schiffer’s hacking skills
landed him a consulting gig
with Zeo to explore open
source development and
make the Zeo monitors more
hacker friendly.
blog.myzeo.
com/turning-a-hacker-into-an-asset —CC
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