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ESP Pinball Wizardry Impressive, Still Silly Looking

by Caleb Johnson on March 5, 2010 at 06:30 AM

When The Who's Pete Townshend wrote "Pinball Wizard," we bet he never imagined just how much influence technology would have on the classic game of flippers and steel balls. Tommy, the song's protagonist, sure could play a mean pinball, but he wouldn't stand a chance at the flippers if his opponent were wearing this brain-scanning device.

According to io9, the device, which looks like a swim cap, uses an electroencephalogram (EEG) to monitor the brain's activity. It fits snugly on the user's head, and allows him or her to flick those flippers with brain waves rather than crazy flailing fingers. Just take a seat, strap on the headpiece, and let your telekinetic powers rack up high-scores, bonus rounds and extra balls. The machine is the work of the Berlin Brain-Computer Interface research consortium, which recently revealed the system at the ceBIT Technology Fair in Germany.

If you see somebody wearing a helmet rigged with cables and wires at the local arcade, take our advice: don't challenge them to a pinball showdown. You won't stand a chance. In fact, report the creep to management. There's no room for nerdy hustlers in an arcade. Oh, wait... [From: io9 and Washington Post]

Tags: arcade, brain, eeg, games, mindcontrol, pinball, telekinesis, top, weird

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