OCZ NIA review - Neural Impulse Actuator

Brainpowah! Weird weird weird... today's product is so weird. We all know that when really bad things happen to people with a head injury, in the hospital they use an EEG (Electroencephalogram) to check your brain activity. There are several wave lengths that can be monitored, precisely. Brainwave-reading (EEG) technology is now swiftly emerging onto the video game scene, adding a new dimension to our gaming experience.

It's spooky, it might even be a little scary... but recently OCZ developed a new product that monitors your brain and facial muscle activity. Increased activity measured on several spots on your head will result in very small electrical currents. When the current is high enough, you could consider it as 1 or "Enable". When there's a lack of that small current (or below a baseline) you could consider it to be 0 or "disabled". Now when you accumulate enough monitors... you can write a piece of software that will interpret that data (0 or 1) and assign functions to it, similar to extra buttons on your joystick, keyboard or mouse.

That's precisely what we'll review today. OCZ has developed a product called NIA - The Neural Impulse Actuator.

OCZ's NIA utilizes a headband to capture the readings from your head. You can think of it as a brain controlled mouse or joystick. This kit resembles a pair of what looks like headphones, with a single electrode contacting the user’s forehead while reading the player’s brainwave information, EEG data. The headset registers the current state of relaxation or concentration of players, allowing them to perform a variety of actions within the game.

OCZ claims that average users will be able to begin to use the device within hours after some initial practice. And yes, this is a complex to learn product. Then the only thing left to do is hone their skills in the game world arenas.

Let's have a look at what we are testing today, and then dive of into the world of brain power...