With this Brain Cap you can now play video games with your mind without surgery » TwistedSifter

Scientists have been working on brain-computer interface products for at least a decade, with Elon Musk's “Neuralink” being the most recent – and arguably most publicized – attempt to date.

But listen. If you're a little squeamish about the idea of ​​a chip in your brain, this cap will apparently be just fine.

This new study says this black and red cap, equipped with electrodes to detect brain waves, is designed to be used by anyone at any time.

Other brain-computer interface devices (BCIs), like Neuralink, need to be implanted into your actual brain. This brings with it obvious risks that lead author Satyam Kumar said was on their minds.

“If we think about it in the clinical setting, this technology will allow us to not need a specialized team to do this calibration process, which is long and tedious. It will be much quicker to get from patient to patient.”

To avoid not only a tricky and risky operation, but also the need to fine-tune a device to a specific user's brain, these researchers have developed what they say is a “one-size-fits-all solution.”

Using AI, they developed a so-called “decoder” and trained it on an “expert” human who used the cap to complete a single game of balancing a digital bar.

These skills proved to be transferable.

18 test subjects who had no experience with BCI technology were able to train for the bar game And a racing game at the same time in just five sessions.

At the product's demonstration at SXSW, it only took a few minutes for volunteers in the crowd to learn how to use the cap to control two-handed robots.

Typically, it can take months to acquire the skills needed to properly navigate a BCI.

There is still a lot of work to be done, such as ensuring that the technology can also be used by people with disabilities.

“The purpose of this technology is to help people, to help them in their everyday lives. We will continue on this path wherever it takes us to help people.”

That sounds pretty cool and would appeal to more people too.

Elective brain surgery is not for everyone.

If you liked this story, check out what happened when a man gave ChatGPT $100 to make as much money as possible and it came out exactly as you expected.