UK firm invents mind-reading technology for Google Glass

UK firm invents mind-reading technology for Google Glass

Google is distancing itself from This Place and its MindRDR software and will not carry it in the Glass app store, for now.

British tech firm This Place is marketing an add-on app kit for Google Glass that, it claims, can read users’ minds. Google, however, is distancing itself from the claims – so far.

MindRDR software enables Glass to function as an electroencephalography (EEG) headset, so users – surgeons for example – can snap photos without moving a muscle, according to BBC. It’s the brainchild of tech firm This Place out of London, which released the software as freeware and hopes developers worldwide flock to it.

The EEG headset works with MindRDR to monitor brain activity and when it detects concentration, it can automatically take a photo using Glass’s built-in camera. The photo is then posted on an associated social media page.

Google only launched Glass in the United Kingdom in June and has not reviewed or approved MindRDR, nor has indicated it plans to do so.

Google Glasses, which sell for $1,500 apiece and look like regular glasses, have drawn controversy because they have been banned at some bars. Glass was lampooned on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show and elsewhere in pop culture.

A spokesperson told BBC that “Google Glass cannot read your mind.” However, the spokesperson also didn’t close the door on third-party apps altogether as she said that the Mountain View, Calif., search giant is “always interested in hearing about new applications of Glass.”

This Place CEO, Dusan Hamlin, told BBC his company aimed to explore enabling Glass to be controlled by the mind of the user – calling it the device’s “true potential.” Glass is controlled by touch or voice commands at this time.

Hamlin and This Place envision MindRDR as a tool to allow people with multiple sclerosis or quadriplegia to improve their interaction with the world. The EEG technology is growing as prices are coming down, with headsets retailing for under £100 in the UK, according to BBC.

 

 

 

Be social, please share!

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmail

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *