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TR5.....MIND SWITCH - THINK APPLIANCES ON, OFF, OR ADJUST

Original link (March 2000):
http://www.phys.uts.edu.au/~asearle/mind_switch/m_switch.html

OVERVIEW

The Mind Switch refers to the technology that has been
developed which allows a person to turn on and off an
electrical appliance, such as a desk lamp or TV in 2-3 seconds
using EEG signals, without training. Proportional control,
such as turning up or down the volume of a radio is also
possible with the technology. This research is being carried
at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS).


BACKGROUND - General

Early in 1994 while studying the response of the brain to
environmental factors Professor Ashley Craig and Mr Paul
McIsaac of the Department of Health Sciences at UTS, noticed
an effect which appears to be common among all persons. That
effect is an increase in a particular brain signal when a
person closes his/her eyes for more than one second. The
important question that Ashley and Paul then asked was could
this effect be used to do something useful?, ie - could the
control of the brain signal be used, in turn, to control
something else?

At this stage Ashley contacted Professor Tony Moon, the Dean
of Science at UTS, to find out if anyone could help answer the
technical questions and design a system that might exploit the
apparent change in the signal level when a person closes
his/her eyes. Professor Moon introduced Ashley to Assoc Prof
Les Kirkup who is a associate professor in the department of
Applied Physics at UTS, who has experience in developing
electronics and instrumentation.

It was thought he could offer important input to the project.
He was initially sceptical that signals as small as those that
are present on the scalp, (where electrodes are placed to pick
up brain activity) could be detected reliably and analysed
sufficiently quickly to allow activation of an external
device, such as a lamp or TV. The data that had been gathered
on signal levels with eyes open and eyes closed showed that a
significant increase occurred in the 8-13Hz part of the 'brain
spectrum' commonly referred to as the 'alpha' region.

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