Always feared that controlling Compiz with the power of thought alone was something only available for Jedi’s and Sylar from Heroes? Think again. (Bad pun. BAD pun.)
Kristopher Ives over at santiance.com is going to be developing just that – support for mind-controlled input for Compiz using the NanoHeadset device by Emotiv.
The headset is… : –
"…a high resolution, neuro-signal acquisition and processing wireless neuroheadset. It uses a set of sensors to tune into electric signals produced by the brain to detect player thoughts, feelings and expressions and connects wirelessly to most PCs." ~ Emotiv
So alongside Mouse input and Keyboard input Compiz 0.9.0 may very well be shipping with a Brain input option too! This will allow a user to map brain activity to induce certain actual desktop commands. Ives gives an excellent example in his blog post mentioning his plans: –
…such as thinking of all windows to be gone, to the show desktop functionality.
Ives ends his post with the most potential – and perhaps frivolous – part of this: –
There is another feature that allows for manipulation of objects on screen, which is what I’ve seen demoed via TED. It may be possible to move windows with your mind! <insert maniac laugh here>
The most exciting part lays beyond the ‘cool’ factor: work on this has the potential to bring much improved accessibility and usability to disabled and physically impaired users. Now that is awesome.
You can read more about Kristopher Ives plans to develop Emotiv headset support for Compiz over @ http://santiance.com