Ever wanted to skip to the next song on your iPod without ever having to reach into your pocket, or answer a call without having to touch your headset, now you can with XWave. The XWave, created by PLX Devices Inc., is the world’s first brainwave interface accessory for the iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad. It works by wearing a small device on your head, paired with specifically designed apps that allow you to control various aspects of your ‘i’ devices.
The XWave is powered by Neurosky Inc. technologies, which has been used by doctors to treat epilepsy and seizures in patients for years. XWave senses the faintest electrical impulses transmitted through your skull to the surface of your forehead and converts these analog signals into digital signals.
The device comes bundled with the free XWave App which is used to train your brain to control its attention and meditation levels. With the application you will have to go through different stages to control the function of your brain. Objectives include: having to levitate a ball for a certain amount of time, change a colour based on the relaxation of your brain and training your brain to maximize its attention span. There will be more apps to come, including one that shares how your brainwaves are stimulated when listening to certain types of music.
PLX Devices Inc. is also offering 3rd party software developers the opportunity to design and develop apps through its Software Development Kit (SDK) program. This allows app developers to add compelling hardware interfaces for any type of application. Whether it is relaxation, brain training, entertainment, games, social networking, sports, sleep, there are many possibilities with the XWave hardware device. Some of the applications that are being developed at the moment will allow you to play games by controlling objects with your mind, control the lights in your home or select the type of music through your iPod based on your mood.
The XWave hardware is available to purchase today and will start shipping in October 2010 at a retail price of $99.99 from www.plxwave.com. The XWave Apps by PLX Devices will be free from iTunes and the Apple App Store and can be directly downloaded from your iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad device starting early October. Additional 3rd party apps are being added every day.
To me this sounds like quite a jump forward in technology uses, perhaps a jump back for physical activity. At the very least they need to work on the physical design of the device. What do you think?
