CES 2013: Fly a Helicopter with Your Mind - East Idaho News
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CES 2013: Fly a Helicopter with Your Mind

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011013 SternCatEarCES?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1357853987529ABC News(LAS VEGAS) — It’s like that bend-a-spoon-with-your-mind magic trick, except in this case it’s cat ears and a remote-controlled helicopter you can move. Oh, and it actually is using your brain waves.

At CES 2013 a company called NeuroSky is showing off its NecoMimi cat ears. You attach the ears to your head, placing a black sensor on your forehead and clipping a second one to your ear. The two sensors capture brainwave data and translate it into the movements of the ears. If you are very relaxed the ears will droop. If you are focused they will perk up and then droop. If you are very interested in something, the ears will perk up and wiggle.

The ears are available now for $99.95, which means others have started to buy them and share their feelings with the world through ear movements. But at CES, AT&T actually put on a “hackathon” where they urged some of their developers to create interesting ways to use the ears. One of the developers wrote an application called “Good Times” that works with the ears. If you are stressed out, the app will send your call to voicemail.

NeuroSky isn’t just about making funny-looking ears either. It is using its electro electroencephalography technology in medical research and applications. Its MindWave product, which has the same sensors as the NecoMimi, is being used at research centers and even being sold for kids and educational applications.

“We work with people with with ADHD and help people diagnosed with all sorts of diseases like Alzheimer’s and do research projects with all sorts of universities,” David Westendorf, vice president of marketing for NeuroSky, told ABC News.

But, of course, at CES they were showing something more flashy with the MindWave — a way to fly a remote-controlled helicopter with your mind. It goes up when you are interested, down when you aren’t.

Both the NecoMimis and the MindWave are available from NeuroSky.com for $99.95.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

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