Mind-controlled Toys for Kids Soon to Reach the Market

Remote-controlled cars and toy robots could be activated with kids' levels of concentration like thinking of thr favourite colour or stroking your dog.

Next generation toys controlled with the power of thoughts can become must have gifts in the near future, according to researchers from the University of Warwick in Britain.

Led by Professor Christopher James, the team has developed a technology which allows electronic devices to be activated using electrical impulses from brain waves, by connecting our thoughts to computerised systems.

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‘Using a technology which allows electronic devices to be activated using electrical impulses from brain waves, the mind controlled toys are constructed.’

The research connects the human mind with electronic devices and sensors in headsets receive brain waves and feed them into electrical circuits.

As a result, remote-controlled cars and toy robots could be activated with kids' levels of concentration like thinking of his/her favourite colour or stroking your dog.

Instead of a hand-held controller, the headset is used to create a brain-computer interface. This activity is then processed by a computer, amplified and fed into the electrical circuit of the electronic toy.

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"While brain-computer interfaces already exist, their functionality has been quite limited. New research is making the headsets now read cleaner and stronger signals than ever before - this means stronger links to the toy, game or action thus making it a very immersive experience," James explained in a university statement.

The exciting bit is what comes next -- how long before we start unlocking the front door or answering the phone through brain-computer interfaces, the researchers noted.