BCI on House

If you love House, that great TV show starring Hugh Laurie as the cantankerous Dr. Gregory House, you should have noticed that they used a BCI in the most recent episode (season 5 episode 19). I was waiting for Hulu to have it up, but got enough emails and calls that I thought I would mention it today. Typical TV BCI, EEG-ish and mystical in operation, but the episode was pretty well done, with internal dialogue from the patient and no spelling of words as fast an able-bodied person could say them, but got a little cheesy. Still, this is an example of where an EEG system would make more sense than an implanted one. Cursor up for yes, cursor down for no.

60 Minutes

So, did you catch it? Not just the show, but my hands are CLEARLY visible in a couple frames! See...



But seriously, I thought it was a really good piece overall, and nicely balanced. I must have explained what I do to my grandma a hundred times, but she didn't understand it until this report. Also, I like checking out the comments people make on the various sites that post these stories*. You can buy the episode on DVD at Amazon, apparently.

A little "Behind the Scenes" bit for you. After Cathy played the media player (standard Windows Media Player, btw), the cameras stopped filming and the crew began discussing the setup for the next shot. I think the reporter (Scott Pelley) was the one that said to a crew member, "I'm having a hard time hearing you because of the music." A couple people began to walk over to the speakers to turn down the volume. Before they reached the speakers, not more than 10 feet away, Cathy had turned the music off. It was a somewhat surreal moment where the research and media attention fell into the background. Not only was it one of the first completely unstructured uses of the system I've seen, but there was a serene normalcy to the situation. Even when all intentions are to be respectful, under typical conditions there is an unacknowledged barrier between the user and the rest of the people in the room. For a moment, that barrier simply disappeared.

The entire clip is available below. Site here.


* There are inevitably a few total whack job posts about secret government projects or aliens, so the mass media coverage provides a good source of lulz. Even Free Republic (staunchly conservative site) is carrying the story. And to answer some of the posts there - our project will be infinitely better off if Obama is elected. If you really care about developing this type of technology, vote for Obama. :P

60 Minutes!

I almost forgot! Tomorrow night the project will be featured on 60 Minutes. You might even see me in the background! This is my biggest media appearance since the back of my head was featured on the Discovery Channel while working for Phil Kennedy (for 2 seconds)!

(The below videos didn't want to work correctly during the preview, so if they are broken when this is posted, just head over the 60 Minutes site.)

Rockin tidbits

First, as I type, I'm watching the premier episode of Prototype This, and I gotta say I really like it so far. Check it out on Discovery Channel. As a bonus, the first episode features the Emotiv EEG BCI system. The task is to design a car that is driven by biofeedback (they started with the idea of shutting off a car in response to road rage, but it seems to be drifting towards the more fun idea of controlling the car's navigation). They also visit BioPac - which makes a number of biofeedback-related systems and sensors. Perhaps they should get one of these to add to the fun (sample video below).

The most important thing about this episode is that it highlights a concept that everyday people don't think about much, namely that any controllable signal can be translated into a computer input, and thus tied to anything a computer can control. This is a great concept to drive home for BCI enthusiasts and general hacker types. It also hits the real life issues introduced by using niche/'vertical market' devices. We know those problems all too well (and by we, I mean JDS, or as we call him "The BrainGate").



And a plane, which is the awesome-er-est:



Next, just a reminder that there are two available sites for news stories which are constantly updated .

For neuro/bci items:
http://www.google.com/reader/shared/user/12240293210094451962/state/com.google/starred

For tech items:
http://www.google.com/reader/shared/12240293210094451962