Brain Computer Interface pluggs up to 2nd Life

Stop Press I say! After a brief spell of jumping up and down in an excited manor you say: "Stop eating that acid, dave". now watch this:



But wait, it's true. This article on Pink Tentacle outlines a neuro-2nd life interface which allows the user to control the basic walk functions of their avatar. The research team from Keio University Biomedical Engineering Laboratory have developed a Brain-Computer Interface technology (BCI) which allows the user to transfer thoughts about movement into actual digital movement of their 2nd life character. The User wears a head piece which measures nuro-electrical activity in the motor cortex (the region of the brain involved in controlling the movement of the arms and legs). The BCI then interprets this crazy data and transfers it into signals which control your avatar. More detail here.



Amazing, yes; but I'm more interested in the potential to grow this technology. Touch Screen? No - Think Screen. Just stop for a minute and start to imagine the possibilities of controlling computers with our thoughts. Very quickly the mind boggles (well, mine does but maybe that is down to the acid); as the potential spirals out of prediction.

Now think of what we are doing in digital - the things that we are all talking about, getting excited about and wetting ourselves over. What of this problem of being swamped in data? How do we know where to search? etcetera. Now attack the same problems with some sort of crazy BCI thingey at the helm, steering our computer interactions. Our brain: able to deal with many concurrent thought processes at speeds intel can only dream of. Take out the clumsy mouse running off the mouse-matt, or clunky keyboard shenanigans.

And what of our digital marketing model? Well for me this is yet another nail in the coffin for banner ads, mpu's and other digisexed up oldworld advertising mediums which have bumped along with us so far as our industry has struggled to keep up with the kind of thinking that will guide it from infancy to adolescence.



And who do I think will be the early adopters for this neuro BCI technical stuff? Why the porn merchants of course. Take a walk down any back alley in 2nd Life; cower away from the light given off by over-branded cooperate worlds such as the Vodafone inside out island and you find an abundance of sexual adventure, role play and people prepared to explore the darker side of their sexual psyche through the clinically safe digital projection of their inner lust. Imagine a 2nd life blowjob which fires orgasm-inspiring neuro electronic transmitters in our brains to give that ultimate after work dopamine hit. Think of your long distance relationship, enabled by a full duples BCI, transmitting the gentle touch of your partner from the other side of the world, straight into the relevant receptors in your brain.

Then imagine the premium which will come with real experience.