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Shocking 'Mario Eye' Enables Hands-Free High-Voltage NES Action

by Warren Riddle on August 4, 2010 at 10:15 AM

NES Mario Eye
'Super Mario' mods and DIY 'Mario' projects serve as an infinite source of entertainment. No matter how incredible those frequent creations may be, though, they haven't, until now, required "could result in pain, serious injury or death" advisories (which automatically let you know that something is awesome). A crew of nerds from Waterloo Labs has devised a hands-free method of maneuvering through 'Super Mario' landscapes, and it involves patching wired electrodes directly on a player's face.

Because the human eye is apparently polarized, when the eye moves, so does an electric field surrounding it. With electrodes placed around a person's peepers, the Waterloo scientists can measure voltage changes based on ocular movement, thereby determining exactly in what direction a person is looking. The researchers then "filter and amplify" the incoming signals with a custom "daughter card," before dispatching that information to their NES. That process allows a player to control Mario's actions merely by looking left, right, up or down. The only problem with the accompanying demonstration is that, while one scientist pops in the extremely undervalued, vegetable-hucking 'Super Mario Bros. 2,' the gameplay is only demonstrated on the original 'Super Mario Bros.' Bummer.

The wacky scientists also provide instructional details on how to create a DIY system, but if you're going to document and share your hands-free exploits, keep it clean, please. (Kanye, we're looking at you.) [From: YouTube via Wired]

Tags: diy, mario, nes, nintendo, SuperMario, SuperMarioBros, top, VideoGames, WaterlooLabs

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