Neurogaming: Part II

In my previous post regarding the burgeoning field of neurogaming, I touched on some of the different aspects being affected by these new interfaces which bridge the gap between man and machine. While not really having much to do with neurogaming, the device from foc.us has the potential to become a common performance-enhancing device, with useful applications in competitive video game environments and classrooms. 

With EEG monitoring headsets from Neurosky, InteraXon, and Emotiv available to the public in the form of a device, as well as the software development kits (SDK), the technology to create some truly groundbreaking applications and experiences have seeped into the hands of those who are both aware of the technology’s potential and capable of blowing minds through programming panache.

As exciting as these neurogaming EEG headsets are, there are many other ways that interfaces are changing. Disney Research has a surround haptic feedback chair that “generates high-resolution, continuous, moving tactile strokes on human skin” and Tesla Touch technology, which provides tactile feedback on a touch interface device through electrical charges. Both of these developments from Disney can substantially impact user experiences in gaming and entertainment.

It’s paramount to realize that while these devices and SDKs are making their way to consumers and developers offering real benefits, there will certainly be hiccups on the path. As it stands, consumers can get their hands on this technology, but it will be some time still before the potential of this is explored fully. The more consumers actually enjoy the products, the more traction neurogames will get in the market. This will lead even more companies to support development through funding and risk taking in the market.

It is easy to imagine further development of these interfaces and integration into the entertainment that we consume. Looking out approximately ten years, these technologies will be widespread, mainstream, smaller, more fashionable, and expected. There will be many novel approaches to how they are used and they will be far more reliable due to advances in the technology itself, as well as in our improved ability to use them, similar to how we have perfected touchscreen texting.

I hope you have enjoyed this two-part look into the near future of computer interface technology as much as I have. I believe that the developments that we are seeing now will have every bit as drastic an effect on the entertainment industry as the moving picture has had. I am excited to see what the future brings to movies, gaming, music, our devices, and the transmedia content that will become even more prevalent and systematically streamlined through technology capable of reading our minds and seemingly understanding our emotions and through algorithm-magic, adjusting difficulty levels, A.I., even storylines on-the-fly…bringing each user a customized experience with a product.

Neurogaming: Part I

We all know the scene, when Mr. Anderson gets a cable jack in the back of his head, learns kung fu, and becomes Neo. This classic scene, showing a true link between user and computer, epitomizes the synthesis of man and machine, albeit under duress and in a virtual world due to the nature of the Matrix films. 

Mass Effect 3’s synthesis ending was an even more eye-opening example of man and machine becoming one, simply due to the level at which the integration took place. This ending to the trilogy was lasting and very real for the inhabitants of Bioware's game universe. 

I am well aware of the morality issues that get called into question when speaking about basically anything new. Many people get scared, change is NOT easy for most, and a continuously uncertain future has the tendency to make “Doomsday Preppers” stars when they are getting their own show on the National Geographic Channel. There always have been, and likely always will be the people who want to put the brakes on progress. This is a good thing. Without the “laggards” raising questions about the validity, safety, or morality of a given situation or technology, more mistakes would be bound to happen in our age of seemingly compressed time and technological advancement.    

We are now at the precipice of a new era in gaming and entertainment experiences with the advent neurogaming. 2013, while obviously still early, could very well be the year where the baby steps towards these Matrix technologies become mainstream realities.

 There are a few promising developments making their way towards public awareness right now. Next generation video gaming consoles are promising to deliver integrated second-screen experiences (WiiU and PS4), previous military tested apparatuses like foc.us are proving to enhance mental learning capacity with transcranial direct current stimulation, and many other exciting developments that I mentioned in my February 8^th post are soon to make their way to the stage.

Growing up, it always seemed like the future was just around the corner and soon we would all have hoverboards, flying cars, be traveling the galaxy, and using a Minority Report style interaction with technology. All of this has proven to be a bit slower than I expected for sure, but I feel like some of what I mentioned above is indeed on its way to us. While we probably won’t be able to learn complex skills that are immediately uploaded directly from the computer to our bodies like Neo quite yet, we can look forward to what is becoming available and figure out new and exciting ways to put these devices to use…. especially in terms of the entertainment value. Soon, devices like foc.us, Google Glass, and augmented reality will be commonplace, and this only paves the way for even more exciting opportunities to learn, play, and interact.

To see how Neurogaming will change the entertainment industry, make plans to be at the NeuroGaming Conference & Expo May 1-2. Also, stay tuned for news about Microsoft’s Durango (New Xbox), which is widely believed to have an announcement coming sometime in April 2013.  

Part II of the Neurogaming revolution coming soon! 

*Chris out     

Somnium Magnus

Lately I have found myself quite literally buried in the law; more directly, I have been immersed in Copyright law, Trademark law, and the legal ramifications that technology has wrought upon the United States and the rest of the world. These various technologies, such as the Internet via networked computers and mobile broadband, increasingly “smart” phones, tablet computers stocked full of software applications and many other modern conveniences, have unleashed a storm of court litigation in order to establish just what is legally viable in the commercial marketplace.
 
To help sort through all the red tape that is intrinsic with our modern world, I enlisted the assistance of one of my favorite modern conveniences, iTunesU. iTunesU is a fantastic platform to gather information from some of the brightest minds in higher education across specialties for free.
 
The first of three podcasts that I listened to was a presentation given by New York University Law School titled “Evolving Technology, Democracy and the Law”. Richard Sherwin, one of the speakers and Professor of Law at NYU, delivers an excellent presentation that really hits home with the transmedia theme of this blog. Sherwin teaches a “Visual Persuasion” course that explores the importance and power of properly using visual images to deeply impact the way people see the world around them through digital mediums and how the knowledge and use of semiotics dramatically can affect a content consumer’s perception of reality. Sherwin uses an exhibit of the acquitted L.A. police officers involved in the high profile police brutality case of Rodney King to persuasively make his point as to the power of visual technology to change minds. In this case, it was the defenses use of a digital version of the originally analog tape to successfully prove their point that Rodney King was actually controlling the situation by choosing to repeatedly stand up against the will of the arresting officers, which in turn caused them to continue to bludgeon him into submission. In this case, the digital footage told a drastically different story than what was immediately visible in the prior version. According to Sherwin, and many others who agree, society now has the ability to follow multiple and fragmented storylines with ease across devices, yet many of us continue to struggle with the blurring between reality and fiction.
 
Second, also from New York Law and in the IP/Technology aspect of law, a podcast featuring John Squires and Thomas Biemer: "The Shape Shifting Subject Matter of U.S. Patent Law" podcast gives an excellent discourse on the matter of junk patents v. novel patents, video games, virtual worlds, and the evolving United States patent system. Thomas Biemer, originally a commercial litigator turned hybrid general commercial litigator/ IP Patent attorney speaks for the most part during this podcast and covers the barely controllable confusion over computer related software patents and the different camps that have argued the ways in which the issues regarding patents should be seen in the eyes of the law. Mr. Biemer sits in an interesting liaison translator position, where he is the go-between between engineer scientific inventor types of individuals and the deciding judge and jury. Biemer speaks specifically about the State Street v. Signature Financial case in which he was involved on the defendant side of the fence. His client signature financial had developed what was understood to be a “hub and spoke” business method for conducting trades with mutual funds, and sought to decide whether or not business methods themselves were actually patentable items.
 
The last podcast, from Stanford University, is “LegalFrontiers in Digital Media: Emerging Issues in Mobile Content Distribution”. This podcast is surprisingly current in their hypotheses of the mobile world circa 2008 looking forward towards the current convergence of entertainment, mobile, wireless, and digital that is now nearly ubiquitous in 2013. One of the biggest factors, both now and then, revolves around the shaping of consumer behaviors in the advertising models for the mobile space and the innovation companies and entrepreneurs will eventually be guided towards creating in order to monetize content.
 

All three of these podcasts go hand in hand with transmedia on multiple levels, and we are in an age of increasingly confusing rules and regulations that we must adhere to if we intend on operating a successful media company. The biggest benefit to these rules and regulations, overlooked by some however, is the fact that once they are intimately understood, it becomes far easier to know what you legally can and can not do. That said, it is well worth any content creator’s time to explore exactly how to make your project fall in line with your legal obligations, both for your potential consumer’s protection, as well as your own.