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‘Beta’ Testing For The Next Generation

Aug
3
2010

In the software development process there are several distinct steps.

Once the initial version of the software has been coded (usually very buggy) it is released to a small group of 'alpha' testers. The feedback from these testers allows the developer to improve on the code to the point where it can be released to a larger group of 'beta' testers to kick the tires. Finally when all (or hopefully at least the majority!) of the bugs and kinks have been worked out the software becomes a Release Candidate (RC in industry parlance) and is made available to the general public.

Now a Canadian company is conducting 'beta' testing of a whole different kind!

Toronto based InteraXon is developing a computerized headset that will allow you to control your environment just by thinking about it! InteraXon's philosophy is simple: If you can plug it in, you can control it with your brain.

How it all works is that when your brain becomes more active it produces beta waves and conversely when you relax your brain produces alpha waves. For decades now the television industry has used this principle for targeting advertising (increasing the volume on ads etc.). InteraXon's headset reads these alpha and beta wave patterns and processes them on a computer. Once a person learns to control the alpha and beta waves, the “control signal” can then be used to program anything from lighting, to music, to motors.

During the Vancouver Olympics visitors used their brain waves to control the lighting on three landmarks: the CN Tower, the Parliament buildings and Niagara Falls. Although these test headsets were quite cumbersome they will eventually become as small as a wireless bluetooth device. The company expects the technology will be available in big-box stores, like Best Buy, within two years.

Already airlines are looking at the devices to alleviate travel boredom for their clients. Another area that is showing promise for the headsets is in treating Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD), where feedback from the headphones can help children learn how to focus better.

I can see a day where the headphones will be standard equipment on automobiles and you will be able to navigate the Don Valley Expressway at 4:00 p.m. on Friday with ease. That is if you don't have a cellphone between the headset and your brain!

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Sources: The Globe and Mail, InteraXon

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This work by Mark W. Law & The Teeswater.Ca Team is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada.