09.16.07
Wired Next Festival - LA Convention Center
Today was the final day of the Wired Next Festival, a showcase of new technology, at the Convention Center. The aging exterior of the Convention Center was an apt metaphor for the even itself, as most of the technology on display wasn’t bleeding edge futuristic concepts, but products that are available at Best Buy, like Logitech’s Google World mouse. Other displays were of products that probably have already had their 15 minutes of hype, like a boat that can go in the water and on the road.
The most interesting display was also for a technology that is already available, but with a novel application. Brainball is a two-player game in which both players, seated at opposite ends of the table, wear a headband that measures alpha waves via EEG recording. A relaxed state produces lower alpha waves, which in turn moves a marble in the middle of the table towards the opponent’s goal, via a magnet under the table. This technology is currently used for treatment of ADD patients and other concentration disorders. However, the display of Brainball, with the two players facing off, is quite dramatic. It appears as a game of chess, with the two players intently concentrating on the ball in front of them and seemingly moving the ball without their hands.
And yet this wasn’t the most dramatic exhibit of the afternoon. At the “Health” area, a woman with a prosthetic arm was demonstrating the flexibility and utility of her prosthetic. She also fielded questions from the audience, from “Do you actually use that every day?” - “Of course I do!”, to “Do you get manicures for your other hand?” - “Yes! Half off!”. A little girl, of 7 or 8 years old, raised her hand to ask a question - except she didn’t have an arm past her elbow. The exhibitor called her to the front, and established that they had similar congenital defects that resulted in their impairments. The girl had never tried a prosthetic before, so the woman excitedly hooked up her nub past the elbow with two sensors, and the girl learned to open and close a prosthetic hand. It was an incredibly moving scene, and it was quite clear what the girl would be asking for next Christmas . . .