--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. -120-