Trick Kids into Thinking They Are Special With The Force Trainer Toy
January 13, 2009 by AshPringle
Filed under Gear
The future is no longer in the hands of children. No my aged, obsolete, mentally underdeveloped friends, it is in THEIR BRAINS.
The Force Trainer, which is set to be released in the fall by Uncle Milton Industries, will make use of brainwave detection technology, letting kids mimic Force-using characters from Star Wars, and giving them a false sense of empowerment.
The toy includes a headset that is equipped with simplified EEG technology that monitors brain activity.
By concentrating on activating the particular part of the brain monitored by the headset kids can activate the toy, which then transmits a wireless signal to a fan, which lifts an official Star Wars brand ping pong ball with a gust of air.
As kids get better at manipulating external objects with nothing but their mind, the toy will signal their progression through various levels with sound effects, encouraging their psionic development.
While I can’t get behind any toy that has even the slightest chance of encouraging kids to emulate Jake Lloyd’s incredibly annoying portrayal of Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars Episode I, I am interested by a quote from a designer of the brain-monitoring technology. Greg Hyver from NeuroSky, the developers of the Force Trainer’s brainy technology, had this to say:
Until today, EEG technology has been designed for rigorous medical and clinical applications with little regard to price (and) ease of use. We are putting this exciting technology into everyone’s living room.
The living room is indeed where this technology should be. I want to raise the bar of laziness by attaching a receiver to my remote control, allowing me to use my brain to send a signal to my remote control, which will then send a signal to my TV telling it to change the channel to the Food Network so I can watch Jamie Oliver, ensuring that I never have to get up off the couch ever again.
The Force Trainer is set to be released in the fall and is expected to cost around $100.
Source: USA Today
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