Think you’re strong with the Force? Pretty soon, you’ll be able to find out.
USAToday.com just posted a story about an upcoming licensed toy that literally uses brain waves to “reach out with your feelings” and move an object. Here’s an excerpt:
The Force Trainer (expected to be priced at $90 to $100) comes with a headset that uses brain waves to allow players to manipulate a sphere within a clear 10-inch-tall training tower, analogous to Yoda and Luke Skywalker’s abilities in the Star Wars films.
No, you’re not tapping into some “all-powerful force controlling everything,” as Han Solo said in the movies. But you are reaching out with mind power via one of the first mass-market brain-to-computer products. “It’s been a fantasy everyone has had, using The Force,” says Howard Roffman, president of Lucas Licensing.
Now, if we could just find a Force toy that lifts the economy…
Check out the full article here.
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What the hell…?
That’s pretty sick.
That kid looks like a young Elijah Wood. One force to rule them all…
@stooge: Yeah, exactly: what the hell?
Oh my… I want one
That…is awesome.
It is way too expensive and kind of pointless(you just move a ball around and that’s it?), but holy cow. Whoever thought that we’d ever see this kind of technology? I’d love to try it out.
Clouded, this toy’s future is.
That’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen.
Can I start to bend spoons after training?
afther looking at this i wonder how thay get the ball to hover with your mind i what to try this out
GO SEPARTISTS AND THE WHOLE DRIOD ARMY
I can imagine having to try 100s of times to get the sensors in the right place on your head for the thing to work.
This does look pretty cool, and for fifty odd quid, it’s not exactly a mind-blowing price…
I was at a conference for primary care recently and one of the stands had a game where two of you plug sensors on to your foreheads and sit either end of a long table and try to will a ball to the other persons end. It came up with your brainwave graph in real time on a screen too.
It was fun to move something with just your mind power, and it probably won’t be very long until this sort of technology is utilised in all sorts of gadgets and devices.
It’s not even very staggering now, I mean what if you told someone in the 1950’s that you could have zero-time communication with millions of people across the globe? They would call you crazy. It’s just progress!
It seems a lot like the technology used in biofeedback labs. If it’s goal is to access the brain’s theta waves, it could be a useful tool in addressing ADD or ADHD issues. I’d buy one!
Wow! I’d love one! But it’s fairly expensive……
Even if all it does is activate a little fan motor, this would be sweet to tear apart and mod into something.
Could always buy the OCZ NIA which is a lot more impressive :S Eventually this tech will be good enough, I hope, to be able to control your whole house, car, etc.
Actually, if this is true, then this could be the start of a very interesting future…can you imagine construction? Moving cranes with your mind? This could go far if the cost comes down.
Awesoem!!!!
I gotta say, this is the least expensive EEG based device I have ever seen. Remarkable.
is that a miniature version of daniel radcliffe in the photo?
oh. my. god.
This is just too cool. It is would be great for any focus-oriented things like yoga, ect.
I have a hard time believing this will work very well with a price tag of $100.
i always knew we would see this kind of technology
$100 bucks to move a ball around with your hand. We can do that now you just throw it. Now if they could only tie this into t.v.s that would be sweet.
Up…..down….up……down……hours of fun! How lame.
Looks like it activates a fan to make the ball hover (note the air vents). I think if the brain activity switched on something more interesting it would probably sell better. Definitely a cool concept, and I’m sure eventually someone will use it for something more than a novelty.
hooray now all the little kids who arent strong in the force can actually feel like they are!….dont bother worrying about all the real jedi out there who go through years of arduous training, this is blasphemy!!!!!!
Darth Vader: Don’t be too proud of this technological terror you’ve constructed; the ability to (move a ball up and down) is insignificant next to the power of the Force.
A similar “game” to this one came to my college. The calmer your brain the further the ball moved away from you and towards the opponent across the table from you. Very cool, very simple. took no real set up and wasn’t hard to get the thing on right, just put in on your head.
:-0
this…is…awesome!! wow..i want me one!
i bet it’s just a heart rate monitor. and as u ‘relax your mind’ to use the force as i believe obi wan had said along the lines, an air pump is triggered to blow more air for a more relaxed heart rate…. not some great new technology… great new toy, yes! but just a toy… everyone thought robo-sapien was gonna be badass…. also i really do wanna try it, so i’m not saying this is gonna be crap… just mis-marketed
oh, what can i do by testing midi-chlorian.
Spooky, but cool! Get ready kids, this party is just now getting underway. Up next, little Jimmy is going to show us all how to light the puppy on fire with bad thoughts. Now go ahead Jimmy, you’ve had plenty of practice.
wow moving a ball up and down with a fan real cool. maybe if i could move it around the room, and it was cheaper i would consider buying. otherwise it looks like somebody put a fan in the tube and called it a “TOY”
What the hell indeed.
I prefer the one that hooks in your computer (Emotiv). That way you don’t have the limit of only moving the ball up and down. Still, I imagine this is a very funny toy.
wow,it’s sow cool it is like the force
That seems pretty cool, but that thing could scatter your brain waves. It would be better if you could move anything with your brain waves.
It seems weird like star wars isnt real and you cant use the force so it doesnt make much sense
Cool.
“Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no substitute for a good blaster at your side”
i wonder if it would work lol
To all the naysayers regarding this product: “I find your lack of faith disturbing”. And to Mark, with that great cross-referenced remark(LOTR/Star Wars), I must say that was “most impressive”.
THAT IS SO FREAKING AWSOME! but I don’t want to get it cauze it might just be a big scam. (notice the air vents. hint, hint.)
Oh, and for the love of pete:
IT’S NOT DANIEL RADCLIFFE OR ELIJAH WOOD!
[...] Fair this year was Uncle Milton’s, due in no small part to the Force Trainer toy we reported on a few weeks ago with a follow up interview last [...]
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I guess that ends this thread of comments.
Meezism wants to convert it into a Hooka Pipe and toke some prime Gungan Hash!
I have the toy but the thing is it kinda spoils it when you here the fan go on.
Wow I really want one of thoose it would give me the abillity to totally creep people out.