Modded Nintendo Lets You Play Mario With Your Eyes 112
hasanabbas1987 writes "A group of engineers going by Waterloo Labs in Austin, Texas created a way of controlling an original NES by simply moving your eyes. By using electrodes placed around the eyes to track the movement of a players eyeballs, they were able to jury rig a Nintendo to accept eye movement as controller input." Quite the production on the video (attached below) too.
Video games (Score:5, Funny)
Now with even less exercise. That's right! No more tiresome finger muscle use.
Re:Video games (Score:5, Insightful)
Consider paraplegics that might want to play video games, this would be great for them.
Even without that, it's an interesting demo of what our tech can do, although I think this might have been available for a while?
Re:Video games (Score:4, Informative)
Its a minor quibble, but paraplegic specifically refers to someone who has lost the use of their lower body, they generally can use their hands.
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Think of the spine as a cable conduit, wherever you cut it, you will lose everything down from there.
Thats why, paraplegic is to be interpreted as losing the use of both legs.
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Thats why, paraplegic is to be interpreted as losing the use of both legs.
From the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary entry for paraplegic:
: an individual affected with paraplegia
And from the entry for paraplegia:
: paralysis of the lower half of the body with involvement of both legs usually due to disease of or injury to the spinal cord
So it seems you are correct. While there are people who lack the use of their arms while maintaining the use of their legs, the term paraplegics does not appear to be generally applicable to them. So what do you call them?
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Awesome.
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From the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary entry for paraplegic:
: an individual affected with paraplegia
And from the entry for paraplegia:
: paralysis of the lower half of the body with involvement of both legs usually due to disease of or injury to the spinal cord
So it seems you are correct. While there are people who lack the use of their arms while maintaining the use of their legs, the term paraplegics does not appear to be generally applicable to them. So what do you call them?
Mostly armless?
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Yeah, that's why I quietly pointed out the meaning of the word he did use instead of ranting about what a stupid-face he was (also, I said its instead of it's, so I shouldn't get too uppity).
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You are correct.
I need to start a coffee habit.
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Your sig makes that comment confusing...
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Real men drink coffee as black as the heart of Corporate America, so the sig is irrelevant.
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I am surprised it is taking this long for people to realize a simple reality of computer use. Repetitive use, regardless of the for it takes, causes fatigue and even injury over time. They thought they were helping when they created the mouse. Well, they did, but it only saved time over using the cursor keys on the keyboard. People still get repetitive fatigue and injuries when a mouse is used. People started using voice recognition systems and surprise, surprise, their voices became strained! Fatigue
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So, just for the sake of furthering the discussion, what about weight lifting? Especially the guys that go pro at it? The difference I see immediately is that they take a mandatory break week about once every 6-8 weeks without lifting at all.
Perhaps it's just that we all don't take enough, long enough, breaks from the keyboard/mouse/game controller? Go a week every couple of months without touching any of them? I know it's rough for me - started have RSI pains in my fingertips and a few knuckles a few w
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There needs to be a better way.
Yes, maybe what we need is a system to naturally change form one way of control to another.
First using your hands, then your eyes, then your body... seems to me that has more to do with game and console design.
That would mean a lot of fun and no fatigue form repetitive tasks.
On the other hand, it would be funny, and maybe even good for health, seen your coworkers on their cubicles standing up and stretching when their mouse period is over, and they have to start to use their body yo control the cursor
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There needs to be a better way.
Multiple interfaces?
Eyes, Mouse, Keyboard, Speech to Text recognition, sophisticated Brain scanning, all at once - nothing gets overworked?
Just needs necessary algorithms to detect when people are switching off tasks
What? (Score:2)
And my instructors at ITT wouldn't let me build a circuit that would work off the voltages that could be taken from the temples (I could pick up a signal using the o-scopes at school and figured I could build a circuit to go off that, instructors were worried about me being electrocuted (lolwut?!))
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Actually, I wanted to do this as extra work. I had straight A's and time on my hands to do extra credit work and supposedly they had a policy of letting students pick their own final projects. This would have been epic. EPIC I tell you.
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That would be epic, thanks for the link!
The closest one is in Memphis [midsouthmakers.org], but having a website to start off with is awesome. Again, thanks!
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I had straight A's in class during the period I had approached my instructor about this.
It's possible that the guys in TFA are better at this than I am, and I'm willing to accept that.
It would have been easy enough to build a circuit that would have worked on such a weak signal and then built it up. I had all sorts of practical uses for such a circuit. I asked about signing a waiver saying ITT wouldn't be liable for my stupidity should it result in myself getting hurt and they still weren't interested (anyt
Sounds awkward. (Score:3, Insightful)
Not sure I see the usefulness. Do you have to look at the right side of the screen to move right? Seems like that would obscure your ability to observe and react to things on-screen. Article doesn't seem to want to load, unfortunately. Is this innovative because of the eye-movement tracking? I thought that was already possible for years now. Seems like a weird thing to track to control a videogame character. Work on that brainwave reader instead.
Now if they could -intercept- your eye movement signals before it actually reached your eyes, I could see applications in FPS games...Imagine staring statically at a screen that moved and turned based on where you WANTED to move your eyes, without your eyes actually moving.
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I assume looking right for them to move right didn't worked well, because then they wouldn't see the screen.
So instead they let you "look left" to move right. Which doesn't work well either as long as your head is stationary but if you move your head to the right for the same amount atleast you will still be able to see the screen.
Not very impressive stuff though, reading off small electrical signals from the muscles around the eyes (I haven't watched more than a few seconds of the video and with no sound)?
My guess... (Score:2)
Actual application for this is in the interfaces for the handicapped.
The game is there just to point out how "easy" it is to use.
Personally, I find the interface a bit... unsettling. [youtube.com]
And the use of Mario is simply sacriligious.
Using Mario like that. He did no harm to anyone.
Well... except Bowser and his minions. But they were all bad.
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I always keep saying that eye-movement control inputs should be a last resort -- for people with things like ALS where you have nothing else left (in ALS you usually have blinks, though, and those are easier to reliably sense).
Eye movements partake in acquisition of visual input. If you have to control things with eye movements, you usually do it at the cost of not seeing what you'd ordinarily see.
As for the interception idea of yours: said screen would have to have a very good refresh rate. For visual expl
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Very informative, thank you. If you weren't responding to a post I'd already made in this thread, I'd mod you up.
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Leisure Suit Larry? (Score:1)
Re:Leisure Suit Larry? (Score:5, Funny)
Talk about undressing her with your eyes!
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This is Starcraft-week
Eye-controlled zerg rush? Need more eyes!
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for porn!
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<slashdotfail>There were supposed to be <aveq> tags around that...</slashdotfail>
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it means I fail at slashdot
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No, Slashdot fails at rendering a lot of characters.
Games for disabled people (Score:2)
I always thought how sad it is that people with certain disabilities can't experience gaming, even thought it wouldn't take much to make those experiences available to them. In this specific case it isn't so easy, but I can't see why there aren't adventure games for blind people, as an example.
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While I have no problems with making games accessible to those with handicaps, video games are a visual thing (as hinted at in the descriptive word "video"). How would you make a video game for a person who cannot process visual cues or input?
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Zork!
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I think this is one of those moments where you have to draw the distinction between video-based and text-based games. To borrow from what DarkKnightRadick said, the difference is in how the cues are given. A text-based game's output can easily be converted to audio but to my knowledge, the same can't be done for a video-based game.
Zork can be played purely with a screen reader or text-to-speech software, the video component isn't necessary to know what the game is telling you, MUDs and MUSHes are also ve
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After I hit submit for my original post, I thought about text-based games but since I did give the caveat of "video" in my response, I didn't think a follow up was necessary. Apparently it was.
Thanks for refining my answer. (:
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I have Zork I, II, and III (:
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The "video" word is somewhat limiting, so let's use the term "electronic entertainment". I think auditory cues, like ambient noise, sound effects and tactile feedback, in addition to voices or TTS, could be interesting alternatives. At the very least is a challenge in game design.
I suppose stereo headphones or surround sound could help to create immersion.
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Even with all that, they still won't be able to avoid that very silent table until they hit it and might or might not be able to get around it with the technologies you just mentioned.
And I purposely limited it because people are talking about computer and console games which, by their very definition now-a-days (when is the last time a text adventure was released?) is a video game.
What sort of feed back to you envision for games like various versions of solitaire?
How about Hearts? Poker?
If it can be done,
Text adventures (Score:2)
I can't see why there aren't adventure games for blind people, as an example.
You are standing in an open field west of a white house, with a boarded front door. There is a small mailbox here.
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would be if you could see it which you can't.
It is pitch black.
>obviously, you insensitive clod. i'm blind.
I don't know the word "obviously".
>feel around
That sentence isn't one I recognise.
>listen
What do you want to listen to?
>listen to environment
I don't know the word "environment".
>echolocate
I don't know the word "echolocate".
>examine
What do you want to examine?
>examine surroundings
I don't know the word "surr
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Re:Games for disabled people (Score:5, Funny)
I get the feeling I'm playing with disabled people all the time when I log into WoW
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WoW is mostly kids, so yes, they disabled because they are brain damaged. Bill Cosby says so. [youtube.com]
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Fortunately, there are. Virtually all modern text adventures (or interactive fiction, as people like to call them now) can be played by blind people that use screen readers, like most programs that output text to a terminal or text area.
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> equip robe
You put on your robe.
> equip wizard hat
You put on your wizard hat.
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I always thought how sad it is that people with certain disabilities can't experience gaming
Gaming is the least of life's pleasures people with certain disabilities can't experience. There are lots of things people can't experience that make me far mor sympathetic.
Then again, I grew up in a world where videogames didn't exist. Yeah, I like them (put a lot of quarters in machines in the late '70s and early '80s, and had tons on my PC in the '90s), but there are far more pleasurable things out there that peop
Nevar Forget (Score:5, Funny)
They should pick up the pace... (Score:5, Funny)
eye-tracking mouse? (Score:1)
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I keep wishing for a hands-free mouse. Taping electrodes to your face every day at work--won't, but glasses (or something using your webcam) might. Anyone seen something like this?
I haven't seen anything because these annoying electrodes are glued to my eyes.
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That being said
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while eye tracking is amazing when it comes to making very fast gross movements it falls apart when it comes to fine movements
Eye trackers have been tracking fine movements for decades. In the last 5-10 years, the equipment has gotten smaller, faster, and easier to use. The problem isn't the tracking, it's the eyes. Your eyes jump around approximately 3-4 times per second, and they don't always go where you think they do. Due to the way the visual system works, the mouse/cursor would just jump around the screen every few hundred milliseconds, and would serve as more of a distraction than an aide. Very minor calibration issues also
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I keep wishing for a hands-free mouse. Taping electrodes to your face every day at work--won't, but glasses (or something using your webcam) might. Anyone seen something like this?
http://www.eyewriter.org/ [eyewriter.org] Their primary goal is for drawing and graffiti, but their app for tracking can be used to move the mouse cursor (I think). My friend built one, and it's really not all that hard.
Side effects? (Score:4, Insightful)
Great... (Score:2, Insightful)
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You could just invert the controls.
Keep your eyes on the screen and turn your head to the right. This controller would interpret it as "left" and you'd move left. Ditto for any direction. So just flip the horizontal and vertical axes (i.e. looking up = down arrow, looking right = left arrow) and you can keep your eyes on the screen. Although it uses eyes to judge direction, inverting the controls makes it about head movement instead.
End of video had it right. (Score:1, Insightful)
The guy at the end of the video was moving his head whilst keeping his eyes fixed on the screen. It would probably be much easier to inverse the inputs and control the character by pointing your face in the direction you want the character to go, rather than pointing your eyes.
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I used to play "Descent" and its sequels a lot. Funny thing was, I was unaware of how much I was moving around trying to accept the "zero-gravity 3D" environment that "Descent" used. My wife, on the other hand, was invariably amused at how much I'd move around playing that game.
My point is that you probably aren't exactly sitting still playing the games you are today anyway. In fact, many people are probably moving their heads unconsciously in much the same manner as they would to control a game like thi
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"Hey, why's it called the eyePhone anyway?"
"I'll explain after I install it."
(loud scream)... "Cool..."
At Last... (Score:1)
Possibly Fake? (Score:4, Informative)
In the NES is a Super Mario Bros II cartridge, however the game being played on the TV is Super Mario Bros I. If this part is faked, I wonder what else in this story is fraudulent.
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In the NES is a Super Mario Bros II cartridge, however the game being played on the TV is Super Mario Bros I. If this part is faked, I wonder what else in this story is fraudulent.
I may be wrong, but I think the version they are playing in the video may be this version: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Mario_Bros.:_The_Lost_Levels [wikipedia.org]
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It's not fake. I work with them. They're demoing it at National Instruments week-long conference (NI Week) in Austin.
Sloppy editting? Maybe. Fake? Nope.
Obligatory BTTF2 Quote (Score:1)
"You mean you have to use your hands?" -video game kid1
"That's like a baby's toy!" -video game kid 2
"Nope! Not anymore!" -Waterloo Labs Engineer
no electrodes necessary (Score:2)
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Waterloo Labs (Score:3, Interesting)
These guys are sharp and innovative. They're the same guys who used accelerometers on a wooden panel wall, and projected a FPS onto the wall, allowing you to play with real guns, air rifles, and even shovels. [slashdot.org]
Modded Nintendo? Pirates!! (Score:2)
You damn well know the only reason someone would modify a computer to get it to do what they want, is so they can play pirated games. And if they're telling people what they did, isn't that contributory infringement?
There's also the DMCA aspects. Requiring the hand-controller dongle in order to work, is a technological measure that limits access to the game, which this dude is circumventing.
Insert Coins... (Score:1)
Sweet! (Score:1)
Sweet! Now I can play with 0 hands on the controller when I'm movin' that big, sexy, hairy beast all over the screen!
Awesome but impractical? (Score:2)
This is an awesome hack, but I would imagine it's nearly impossible to play a videogame by moving your eyes like that. Your eyes are already busy, dedicated to seeing stuff. And usually you probably are staring at the thing you need to avoid/shoot, not looking to where your game avatar needs to go. And even if you are looking where you're supposed to go next, probably this doesn't involve large-scale eyeball motion like "look up at the ceiling" to go up when you really just need to move a few sprite bloc
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meanwhile, we've got these strange finger things at the end of our upper appendages that almost look as if they spent the last million years or so perfecting the art of precise manipulation and physical coordination. adapting the eyes to accomplish the same job is simply using the wrong tool.
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Playing Nintendo with it is just a technology demonstration - they haven't modded the Nintendo itself they've just created a new input controller for it.
This same technology could be used by quadriplegics, for example, to control an electric wheelchair and give them some mobility.
Oh, the cacophony! (Score:2)
Maybe its just me (Score:1)
survival horror (Score:2)
If it becomes affordable, they could flip the concept around and use it in survival horror games to determine where the next enemy comes from, and when to strike. (Too much eye movement, let things calm down...Ok, the player seems a little too relaxed, have something nasty jump out at him).
Small "flaw" in the system (Score:2)
This sure looks great, no doubt about it!
However, I don't that having to actually look up and down for the up and down movement is very practical, at least for games. That split second that your eyes move up or down, away from the screen, can make all the difference in a game. The side movement is not a big problem, because we can easilly tilt the head side by side, keeping the eyeballs focused in front of the screen (like a guy in the video did). It's the up and down movement that is tricky.
Even so, this i
Link to original source (Score:1)