Remember that rumor of a spherical Microsoft Surface bouncing around the labs of Redmond? At the time, we didn't get it. Now, imagine if you would the combination of a multi-touch sphere with these 360-degree games from SusiGames. Oh sure, the games have been kicking around art shows and design exhibitions for several months now, and rely upon a modified Wiimote and decidedly non-touch-sensitive SusiSphere for interactivity. Nevertheless, the union of the two concepts sure is tantalizing. Check the game play after the break.

You can't get much dorkier than a) knitting or b) reminiscing about your misspent youth jerking the stick with Space Invaders. Combine the two, however, and you'll be the most fashionable kid at Legoland. Add a random sampling of mystery QR codes and Mister Green Jeans himself will be asking you for couture tips. Best get your order for the $66 Invader Scarf in soon though, Lendorff Kaywa is only knitting 500.

[Via Oh GizMo!]

Jason Hickner, a DIY'er with possibly more "time" on his hands than most, has created a clock which is not very easy to read, but a lot of fun to look at. Using a Propeller chip (as featured in the XGS Hydra) and what appears to be a oscilloscope (but is actually a wild old Sony TV), Mr. Hickner has hard-coded a Space Invaders timepiece. The clock uses the attacking aliens to represent minutes, and the extra lives in the left-hand corner for the hours. It's unclear whether or not shooting the aliens produces any type of time-dampening or reversal effect, but since this is based around the Propeller chip, it seems likely. See it in action on video after the break.

The familiar Space Invaders aliens have already laid their mark on more than a few public places, but the folks at La Tête Au Cube look to be extending their reach even further, with the design firm busting out this doormat to bring a bit of pixelated intimidation straight to your front step. While it unfortunately won't let your visitors try their hand at a game while they wait for you to answer the door (or collect quarters from them), the animated antics on display on the mat's built-in LED screen should at least be enough to remind some of 'em to wipe their shoes before they enter, and leave other less geeky visitors of yours completely perplexed. It seems that you may have a bit of trouble getting your hands on one at the moment, however, as it's currently sold out despite the hefty $110 price tag.

[Via Uber-Review]

While having a robotic assistant play video games for you might sound novel, it's certainly not as thrilling as interacting with the 1s and 0s yourself. A team of researchers, engineers, and students at Washington University in St. Louis have crafted a brain-computer interface system that allowed a 14-year old gamer suffering from epilepsy to cruise through the first two levels of Space Invaders using only his imagination. Rather than picking up an Xbox 360 and perusing through the Xbox Live Arcade, the crew went back to their roots and programmed an Atari 2600 to interface with the brain-sensing apparatus. The headgear boasted a grid of sensors that monitored "electrocorticographic activity" from the brain's surface to detect signals based on thought processes that were going on. By calibrating his thoughts with video game triggers, the teenager was able to learn the ropes "almost instantaneously," and had no qualms demolishing the competition while twiddling his thumbs. The group plans to use this successful experiment to further understand the mysterious signals of the mind and give physically disabled individuals a chance to show of their mental sharpness, but we're hoping to see this thing bundled in with the sure-to-be-delayed PlayStation 8 that should hit shelves sometime before 2040 2050.

[Via MedGadget]

If for some reason you feel the need to sport a set of obnoxious LED displays on your head, you might as well go all out and embed them in the ugliest hat you can find. Iain over at LushProjects is one person who felt such a need, and spent over six months designing and building the, um, unique piece of headwear you see pictured above -- which besides displaying the text message of your choice, also throws down a pretty mean game of Pong or simulated Space Invaders. To liven things up a bit, Iain even tossed in a microphone and amp, so that fellow concert-goers need only glance over at his creation for a graphical representation of the music blasting at a show. We're not sure if the hat actually lets you play a real game of Pong or not, but even if it does, having strangers stand inches from our face while tugging on our ear flaps doesn't sound all that appealing - we'll stick with our Pong clock for now, thanks.

[Via Make and Hack-A-Day]