Executive Summary

An executive summary describing the functionality presented in under 250 words.

The technology is called a brain-computer interface (BCI). Basically, when you want to move your arm or turn your head, your brain generates electrical impulses in a specific neural signature. That signature can be detected by special sensors, and then translated into commands that can be understood by a computer. Instead of using a keyboard, your brain becomes the keyboard.

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Hardware

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Griffith uses the Emagin Z800 head-mounted display (HMD) for turning her avatar, which she performs by moving her head left or right. Moving the avatar forward and backward is done via an Emotiv EPOC BCI headset.

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Griffith sees potential in the use of BCI for dismounted training. A soldier who has to fiddle with a keyboard or push a special button on his training weapon is a soldier who is not concentrating on learning his core tasks.

"You have to translate whatever you want to do into keystrokes or joysticks. It's not natural. They're not learning skills that you necessarily want them to learn. We want them to pay attention, to focus on skills like crouching instead of hitting F7," she said.

Technically speaking, BCI is less about detecting thoughts than about detecting intentions. Thinking about moving your arms generates specific brain impulses tied to the neural processes that govern motor movements.

Emotiv's EPOC BCI device works by picking up faint electrical impulses on a user's skin, which are caused by activation of groups of neurons in the brain, according to Emotiv research manager Geoff Mackellar. The EPOC, priced at around $300, detects activity at 15 sites around the brain, as well as tracking vertical and horizontal motion of the head.

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