Mind Control and Revit

Watched a demonstration of some interesting technology this evening at the Revit Technology Conference (RTC 2010) here in Sydney. Emotiv is a combination of software and electrodes that receive impulses from a headset and then uses this to provide information about your brain activity. It can be used in many ways including learning facial expressions and other gestures to interact with a computer. There are more important medical related uses for this technology that certainly supercede its relevance to Revit but it is quite a concept.

We saw the Emotiv EPOC Brain Activity Map feature and the site says this about it:

This application displays a real-time map of your mental activity in four significant brainwave frequency bands. Adjustable gain allows you to see detailed information and relative strengths between different brain regions. Adjustable buffer size allows you to see instant responses or average activity over longer periods.

Here's a picture of it in action that Jim Balding posted on Twitpic.

Check it out!

Oh, this was part of the Glorius Gadgets session that RTC has run at each conference for the last few years. This year also featured Phil Read demonstrating the virtues of the iPad and various apps for it. It also featureed Chris Needham (he also found and introduced Emotiv) showing off a stylus that permits you to use a "pen" on practically any surface to interact with your computer.

Revit Technology Conference 2010 - RTC 2010 Sydney

Planning for RTC 2010 Sydney is in full swing and goes live in just a couple short months now. I was fortunate to be able to attend last year and get to go this year too!! Yay me! (I watch Disney Channel with my daughter so I'm hip to all the cool phrases!) The conference will be at the:

Novotel Manly Pacific Hotel
Sydney, Australia
Thursday – Saturday, 20 – 22 May 2010

I must admit that I wasn't going to attend until Wesley showed me the special microphones they were going to provide me with for my sessions. I had to make sure no other speaker would get to use them before I'd agree. What kind of "prima don" would I be if I didn't have unreasonable demands? This is a picture of the microphones that I get to use, I think they are befitting of my style and go with my earrings nicely!

Truth be told I found the picture on the Facebook page for PA of the Day. A page dedicated to sharing pictures of Public Address (PA) systems. The sort of stuff a roadie (ex-roadie in my case) enjoys. The more arcane the better! Naturally I had to join immediately. The caption attributes them to Mariah Carey.

Back to the conference! The schedule and roster of speakers has been posted. If you have the opportunity to attend or send someone from your office instead please plan to do so, won't regret it! See you there!!

P.S. If you are really paying attention did you notice the RTC USA link? Hmmm...what could we be planning there?? Stay tuned!