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OCZ's Neural Impulse Actuator gets reviewed, mice everywhere safe for now
We tried to take OCZ's Neural Impulse Actuator seriously, we really did. But unable to suppress those recurring images of Geordi La Forge, we simply couldn't help ourselves from having a laugh at this thing's expense. Nevertheless, the way-more-solemn dudes and dudettes over at HotHardware managed to give this brain-computer interface a fair shake, and overall, it was pretty impressed. Still, the bottom line is this: "the NIA is a very unique input device and possibly the first true brain-computer interface to hit the retail market," but it's not "a replacement for traditional input methods." Granted, critics did point out that it would supplement current devices quite well, but only after "slogging through" hours upon hours of training. The hardcore among us may be willing to put in the time necessary to really get a lot out of this; for everyone else, just continue to point and laugh while masking your ignorance.
Heads-on with OCZ's Neural Impulse Actuator
If the Neural Impulse Actuator (NIA) from OCZ could really read thoughts, it'd be a little disappointed right now. In our short time with the "brain mouse" controller, we had some difficulty figuring out what exact "thoughts" did what, with our primary accomplishment being repeated backwards jumping motions while getting destroyed in a match of Unreal Tournament 3. To the NIA's credit, however, we could already tell that we were getting a bit of a sixth sense for the controller, and with the hour or so of recommended time for learning, we're sure we could be fragging with the best of them. "Brain mouse" is a bit of a misnomer, since we used the NIA in conjunction with a real mouse for actually looking around. NIA took over everything else, including strafing, jumping, running and even shooting if you concentrate just right. The unit seemed to primarily concern itself with our forehead muscle contractions, but other subtle motions seemed to come out of nowhere when we moved our eyes or concentrated just right. Just for novelty alone we'd say the NIA is worth that $300 pricetag, but we don't expect to be besting Fatal1ty with this strapped to our head.%Gallery-17540%
OCZ set to launch Neural Impulse Actuator "brain mouse"
It's certainly not the first to toy around with mind control as a means of fun and games, but OCZ looks like it may be among the first to actually get a product out the door, with it now set to launch its Neural Impulse Actuator "brain mouse," or NIA for short. According to Daily Tech, the device makes use of a combination of EEG readings, muscle movement, and eye movement to control a given application which, in this case, is mainly intended to be games. Needless to say, the contraption will take a little getting used to, but OCZ says that most users will get the hang of it "within hours" after a little practice, and that they'll eventually even be able to increase their reaction time compared to a standard mouse. You'll also not surprisingly need a fairly decent PC, as the NIA has been designed specifically for multi-core systems, and a good bit cash to spare, with it set to run $300 when it launches sometime in the not too distant future (it's going into production next week).
