OCZ Neural Impulse Actuator (nia) - The Log
Introduction
Published: 24th June 2008 | Source: OCZ | Price: £90.85 |
Introduction
Two months have passed since Overclock3D brought you news that OCZ's greatly anticipated Neural Impulse Actuator (nia) was ready for shipping. Our forums along, with many others, became rife with excitement at the prospect of this groundbreaking device actually being available for purchase from retailers. Did we speak too soon? Well yes, maybe, but as the saying goes, "a watched kettle never boils" and with so many people putting pressure on OCZ to deliver, the inevitable happened, and the release date slipped back...and back...and back.However, just when members of our forum seemed to be giving up hope and comparing the nia to OCZ's Cryo-Z cooler *cough cough*, OCZ have pulled a rabbit out of their hat and caught us totally off guard with an early morning delivery from DHL. Yes, that's right....the nia is here at last!
For those of us who have absolutely no idea what the nia is, or why we're jumping around like school kids at the beginning of the summer holidays, the nia is most probably the most advanced device to make its way onto retailers' shelves in a LONG time. Capable of reading neuronal discharges in the brain, muscular signals and retinal movements, OCZ have marketed the device at gamers, claiming that the device can be used as a kind of brain-powered-joystick to compliment, and possibly even replace, the traditional keyboard or mouse during gaming. Not only this, but by cutting out a large portion of the time that the body would usually take to relay information from the eye down through the body to our hands and fingers, the nia is also reported to reduce reaction times by anything up to 60%.
The nia is also extremely unique in that, unlike most products reviewed on Overclock3D, it can't simply be picked up, tested and put down again. Our previous news post probably explains it best: "While the nia is clearly a breakthrough in technology, it's certainly not going to make anybody a professional gamer over night. In much the same way as it takes several years to learn how to touch-type without looking at the keyboard, the nia will similarly require significant 'brain training' before a user can competently navigate around a map in a game". Not only this, but while most products are pretty consistent between each user, the nia can almost be compared to voice recognition software in that its success varies between users.So how exactly do you review a device that takes months to learn and produces varied results depending on the user? Well, the only way that we could think of was to get as many of the OC3D review team down to HQ nice and early on Saturday morning and hand the unit around. At the end of the day we'd each write a short report on what we thought, and then pass the unit on to the most active FPS gamer for a full month of testing with weekly updates.
So without further ado...let's get down to business...
Most Recent Comments
Awww man I'm still a touch gutted I couldn't make it there mate 
Looks like good annoying fun.
I'll look forward to the updates. I just really want to see in a couple of months the videos people post up so we can really get an idea of what this is capable of in a game. Also hearing other experiences of how people have learned to practice certain functions and control all the different "brainfingers" at once.
Looks like good annoying fun.
I'll look forward to the updates. I just really want to see in a couple of months the videos people post up so we can really get an idea of what this is capable of in a game. Also hearing other experiences of how people have learned to practice certain functions and control all the different "brainfingers" at once.
that looks mind boggling
kinda fun though...
hmmm
i dunno what to make of it though tbh..
kinda fun though...
hmmm
i dunno what to make of it though tbh..
It would be interesting to see what you can do with a little more experience to be honest. I'd imagine the more you use it the more advanced functions you would be able to use. Maybe even ditch the mouse for just desktop use?
With experience you could control the brainfingers I think, and they could be used in game for click / key functions but they are nowhere near complex enough to allow fluid movement or aiming or moving of cursors. That may come one day soon but I think that's the mistake a lot of people will be making when they go to buy one.
With plenty of practice it would become near subconscious I think, but I cannot see how it would be a viable piece of gaming gear yet, you would need to be playing in a sealed pod with 0 distraction and an epic attention span. Otherwise one grin or glance at your watch and you'll shoot a team mate in the back.
With plenty of practice it would become near subconscious I think, but I cannot see how it would be a viable piece of gaming gear yet, you would need to be playing in a sealed pod with 0 distraction and an epic attention span. Otherwise one grin or glance at your watch and you'll shoot a team mate in the back.
dugg and what can I say!? If only i coulda drove up xD
Nice work, glad your doing ongoing investigations with it. If a monkey can learn to disassociate its limbs whilst using something similar I'm sure its only a matter of practice and configuration before the full brunt of what can be achieved with this product is apparent (Youtube Monkey Brain Control to see what I mean). Just think of the years of biomechanical work you have to unlearn first though, I've been using a keyboard/mouse/gamepad since the heady days of the commodore 16+4 so just under 30 years to retrain...thats gonna be difficult...but I'm sure the younger generations will pick it up in a snap...its also nice to see optimization for multi-core cpu's as well...got a feeling though theres gonna be plenty of software updates as I can see the software requiring a good tinkering...hoping I get me mitts on one this week
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Originally Posted by name='Jaster'
Nice work, glad your doing ongoing investigations with it. If a monkey can learn to disassociate its limbs whilst using something similar I'm sure its only a matter of practice and configuration before the full brunt of what can be achieved with this product is apparent (Youtube Monkey Brain Control to see what I mean). Just think of the years of biomechanical work you have to unlearn first though, I've been using a keyboard/mouse/gamepad since the heady days of the commodore 16+4 so just under 30 years to retrain...thats gonna be difficult...but I'm sure the younger generations will pick it up in a snap...its also nice to see optimization for multi-core cpu's as well...got a feeling though theres gonna be plenty of software updates as I can see the software requiring a good tinkering...hoping I get me mitts on one this week
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I'm thinking that the first game I am going to seriously give it a test with is something with very little in terms of actual inputs....I'm thinking trackmania...accelerate, brake, left and right...cant get more simple then that...break myself in easy...its gonna be do-able...if i can use to learn a wii-remote/dance-matt (although the knees did seem to give up after 15 mins)/and the guitar hero controller Its just a matter of practice albeit in a different sense...
This device is weird and fascinating all at the same time.
Some initial thoughts are:
1. Positioning the headband as close to your eyebrows as you can seems to increase the ability to use the "glance" function.
2. Controlling the Alpha and Beta bars feels at time random, but then at other times I feel as if I have it under control. I can now raise all of the bars and lower them, but still cannot raise or lower individual bars.
3. The muscle functions are the easiest to work with, so clenching your teeth or raising your eyebrows always gets an immediate reaction.
4. There seems to be a lot of tweaking that you can do in order to calibrate the device. I'm know to be one that likes to fiddle with settings and configs until the cows come home, so how long I spend in these windows remains to be seen.
I'm looking forward to testing this device, but agree with previous comments made. In order to realise the true performance, it's going to take patience and time to get the "knack" of it. However, it should be an interesting month!
Some initial thoughts are:
1. Positioning the headband as close to your eyebrows as you can seems to increase the ability to use the "glance" function.
2. Controlling the Alpha and Beta bars feels at time random, but then at other times I feel as if I have it under control. I can now raise all of the bars and lower them, but still cannot raise or lower individual bars.
3. The muscle functions are the easiest to work with, so clenching your teeth or raising your eyebrows always gets an immediate reaction.
4. There seems to be a lot of tweaking that you can do in order to calibrate the device. I'm know to be one that likes to fiddle with settings and configs until the cows come home, so how long I spend in these windows remains to be seen.
I'm looking forward to testing this device, but agree with previous comments made. In order to realise the true performance, it's going to take patience and time to get the "knack" of it. However, it should be an interesting month!
really cool article 
I like the videos, more reviews with videos ftw!
I like the videos, more reviews with videos ftw!
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Originally Posted by [Ins]
2. Controlling the Alpha and Beta bars feels at time random, but then at other times I feel as if I have it under control. I can now raise all of the bars and lower them, but still cannot raise or lower individual bars. |
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Originally Posted by name='llwyd'
Interesting because I found that I could control individual ones, but with no particular technique. I almost had to go into a trance to do it. To move them all I basically had to go braindead.
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Nice work so far guys
Looking forward to the rest of the results. Get the feeling that as this is the first of its type that its going not be perfect in terms of function but in a few years this kind of device could be the norm.
Looking forward to the rest of the results. Get the feeling that as this is the first of its type that its going not be perfect in terms of function but in a few years this kind of device could be the norm.
this is freaky
good review but i fear the NIA
good review but i fear the NIA
Get mine today...should be interesting ....will post some video's and stuff when I get the chance
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Originally Posted by name='Jaster'
Get mine today...should be interesting ....will post some video's and stuff when I get the chance
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Maybe we could even start a nia User Log thread on the forums??
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Originally Posted by name='Jim'
If you need anywhere to host them or anything converted into flash movies, just drop me a PM mate.
Maybe we could even start a nia User Log thread on the forums?? |
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Originally Posted by name='Jaster'
Yeah thats a good idea mate...its my better half I feel will have most of the time to hone her skills with it...she spends her time looking after our 9 month old...which would be interesting to see an average user using it,and maybe a baby too (no its not child abuse its scientific progress) when I'm set up mate I'll PM you...was also thinking of setting up a NIA only trackmania server....
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PS: No children were hurt during the filming of this review.
so i'm not the only one who has a *unique* parenting aproach...lol...
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Originally Posted by name='Jaster'
so i'm not the only one who has a *unique* parenting aproach...lol...
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I believe the next candidate might be a cat in the OC3D labs. Imagine getting pus5y whipped at Unreal by a feline!
I think a trip to my local petting zoo...with a laptop maybe in order...the animal kingdom heralds many an opportunity...also those drunk tramps round most city centres...maybe in time we learn about what they are shouting at....theres so much work that could be done using this technology....
OMG how many calibration settings are there...we just had a quick play on pong in the office...after 5 mins I found the glance control(albeit with a bit of tweaking with the sensitivity) that I could actually control it quite well...as soon as I'm home trackmania (OCZ NIA Testingfield if anyone wants to join) will be up (bout 8pm GMT) if anyone wants to come and watch me crash my car with my brain feel free....
at work now... but... hrm... could someone point me to this "trackmania" game?
...no 64 bit drivers available for NIA yet....so cant run it at home....you would of thought that with 64bit os's being used by most high end enthusiasts to unshackle the 4 gig limit that it would of been a major priority...seeing as there major business is memory...plus no warning on the box or instructions...even the software installs fine with no warnings...I know it says so on the product page but its not exactly made clear...I think there a bit out of order...
oh damn it ive got a vista x64
I thought that 64bit support was not "optional" and is a requirement now...it reminds me of the days when I had to scratch around for drivers when i first used xp 64...other things i noticed were...when you plug it in it says "NIA Prototype"...which was a bit worrying...could of called it V1.0...obviously on 32 bit os at our office....and secondly "patent pending"....which means that anyone can reverse engineer it and/or contest the patent...no specifications or requirements on the box, instructions or software....and the cgi woman on the tutorials sounds like an old text to speech program...it does work well though...just a shame OCZ seem to be lacking in there marketing/support for a non high end enthusiast product...I think its looking like they may of bit off a tad more then they can chew...
no specifications requirements needed lol?
but a guy from ocz said they should have a minimum system requirement.
but a guy from ocz said they should have a minimum system requirement.
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Originally Posted by name='K3T'
no specifications requirements needed lol?
but a guy from ocz said they should have a minimum system requirement. |
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Originally Posted by name='Jim'
Yeah when we heard about the device we was told that the software was quite CPU intensive. However, on testing the device it seemed to idle at about 2% and spike up to 14% occasionally.
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someone with access to one of these (i.e. Jaster) needs to email me. If you have access to one (OC3D folk maybe?) shoot me an email. If you are not Jaster or OC3D and have one... please inform me so I can get you my email address.
Now until I check out this software QUIT THIS BELLYACHING ABOUT THE LACK OF 64BIT SUPPORT! NOW!!!
I'll tell you when you cna start moaning, but I have a tv tuner, a D-Link Wifi-N, and Dragon NatSpeak 9 running on my 64bit os without even 32bit emulation. These are all things which won't even start the install if they detect a 64bit OS...
I also have a 10x multiplier on my e6750... but that is a whole different story.
Point is... lemme take a whack at it and see if I can cram the NIA into a 64bit OS... put your fears on hold.
Now until I check out this software QUIT THIS BELLYACHING ABOUT THE LACK OF 64BIT SUPPORT! NOW!!!
I'll tell you when you cna start moaning, but I have a tv tuner, a D-Link Wifi-N, and Dragon NatSpeak 9 running on my 64bit os without even 32bit emulation. These are all things which won't even start the install if they detect a 64bit OS...
I also have a 10x multiplier on my e6750... but that is a whole different story.
Point is... lemme take a whack at it and see if I can cram the NIA into a 64bit OS... put your fears on hold.
right exile...Ive been running 64bit os's for 4 years..was a certified beta tester for vista x64...am fluent in msip...orca...have rewritten driver packages...the works...the main problem you'll encounter is that on the hardware level it shows as 8 different HID's...honestly mate even if I uncompiled the 32bit driver I really dont think unless you know how exactly the abstract hardware layer works with framework ...its really not worth it...this isnt a device type weve seen before...and theres nothing that can b substituted, forced or applied short of you backward engineering the hardware and software to root level....enough said
I don't think so. The Software may need to be worked over... but hardware?
Brainfingers (the $2000 model) interfaced over serial, and the NIA is USB. I am pretty sure that the Control Box does all the hardware abstraction and feeds the computer direct data (instead of feeding the software abstract data and letting it communicate with the computer).
USB is a pretty standardized interface (I hope), it would not surpirse me if the NIA actually fed in unicode commands, or something else unbearably simple.
If it shows 8 HID's, then we have seen something more complex...
http://www.siliconera.com/news/0608/steelbco.jpg
If the 8 HID's are the 8 levels that the Nia detects then it may be as simple as an 8 axis controller...
Brainfingers (the $2000 model) interfaced over serial, and the NIA is USB. I am pretty sure that the Control Box does all the hardware abstraction and feeds the computer direct data (instead of feeding the software abstract data and letting it communicate with the computer).
USB is a pretty standardized interface (I hope), it would not surpirse me if the NIA actually fed in unicode commands, or something else unbearably simple.
If it shows 8 HID's, then we have seen something more complex...
http://www.siliconera.com/news/0608/steelbco.jpg
If the 8 HID's are the 8 levels that the Nia detects then it may be as simple as an 8 axis controller...
Its still a dead end...at the end of the day if it was that simple dont you think OCZ would of sorted it already...and if there was any kind of work a round I would of been able to see it...I had a freind over at infrogrammes have a look at the software .... he muttered something about dll's and the 64 bit kernel and said exactly what I thought...with it being the first BCI to hit the market with some pretty unique software and hardware he said that if all the initial work was developed round 32bit hardware and software then it may take some time for redevelopment and deployment...and whatever we could do by the time weve grasped whats going on then OCZ will have released one already...its absolutely futile to say anything else on the subject...its now just a waiting game...unfortunately the emotivs hot on the heels of this, I dont think the hardware is much of an issue when it works, however like I said on previous posts I think the software will be make or break...we'll just have to see how it pans out...patience...because face it to learn how to use this technology is gonna take plenty of that...I'm excited to see what our customers think ...
Good points. I will have to trust you on this issue as I may not be as lucky as you and quoc.
anyone need 32bit media/keys? lol.
anyone need 32bit media/keys? lol.
Mate I returned mine to work today and it got sent out to a back order...no point in keeping an unusable unused item ...I'm not selfish...at least someone else can have the enjoyment of it...I'm getting real eager to see someone really get good at controlling it...
Blast... I can control my alpha and beta waves independently... what other controls are needed (I work at a hospital a lot and have access to "recreational" eeg use... those with higher levels of alpha waves are more relaxed, so you can train that aspect... any who...)?
the ocz software has 3 sets of bars for each alpha and beta...theres glance and muscle readings....I only remember the eeg machines from 85 to 96 which involved a very uncomfortable rubber tubed head piece and about 50 sensors which all had to be put on individually with gel on each one...took over an hour to set up...couldnt imagine doing that every time I wanted a quick blast on a game
lol, you don't need that many, but if you look at an eeg (or some medical drama on youtube, or scientology) it usually has six readout needles. so the other two must be glance and musclature? or is it two HID per sensor and 1 for each of the other two sensors onboard?
that would makes ense in terms of the nia...wonder what the emotivs do then...the head gear seems more elaborate with more sensors..
Meh... Either more accurate, or only one sensor/hid per node, or sensors for other things...
OCZ seems to have a rather accurate device as far as the EEG parts are concerned... emotive must traks many more things than the NIA.
OCZ seems to have a rather accurate device as far as the EEG parts are concerned... emotive must traks many more things than the NIA.
yeah...watching the video's not only muscle actions in the head are registered but throughout the body...watch the stonehenge demo...tbh I think there are gonna be numerous attempts...time will tell if any translate well enough to compliment traditional methods...wondering when week 2 on the log will be put up...i have faith in the reviewers on here to give it a good go and be open minded about it being the first of its kind...it was interesting to see the new emotiv vids reducing the expected price from $400 to $300...I'd read that somewhere else a whist back...suppose its good to have 2 competitors on the market to keep prices within the reach of the average consumer..
yay i managed to play UT3 and CSS lol with only mouse to aim xD right click as well :P took me 4hours to get use to this thing lol
oh yeah no more pong for me guys <3 NIA lol worth every penny
oh yeah no more pong for me guys
<3 NIA lol worth every pennyhow many keys can you bind if you're able to control everything?
no idea lol im using the "easy" profile for ut3
Quoc, earlier stuff said upto 16 actions.... the idea is that you can map certain parts of the "Axis" to be a button when your in that zone. So the more things you map in one axis, the more careful you have to think about that bit...
at least thats what I've picked up, not having one.
at least thats what I've picked up, not having one.
your right roach...8 axis in total each with a positive and negative axis which means 16 in total...but its real sensitive...so the degrees of seperation between positive and negative and all the cross variants means you could easily map a full keyboard and macros...but you'd have to be bordering on telepathic or some other paranormal extreme to control it ...
...would that mean the more buttons you add the easier it would be to 'misclick' a button in your brain?
also...Jaster, any chance your company could ship to new zealand?
also...Jaster, any chance your company could ship to new zealand?
defo with the misclick thing...its not the sort of thing you'd want to do in any team based game....I could envisage one wrong move leading to another and another...domino effect...the software mimics the joypad config in windows ..which I think is good as its attatching it to something weve all used...
Yes we will ship to NZ but I'm not sure when the next batch are out...last time I spoke to OCZ they said the second batch would follow in approximately a month after the first shipment...however one of our suppliers said this week...however that is not the same supplier we actually got the first load from...I'm sure I'll get a better picture this week...
Yes we will ship to NZ but I'm not sure when the next batch are out...last time I spoke to OCZ they said the second batch would follow in approximately a month after the first shipment...however one of our suppliers said this week...however that is not the same supplier we actually got the first load from...I'm sure I'll get a better picture this week...
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Originally Posted by name='Jaster'
yeah...watching the video's not only muscle actions in the head are registered but throughout the body...watch the stonehenge demo...tbh I think there are gonna be numerous attempts...time will tell if any translate well enough to compliment traditional methods...wondering when week 2 on the log will be put up...i have faith in the reviewers on here to give it a good go and be open minded about it being the first of its kind...it was interesting to see the new emotiv vids reducing the expected price from $400 to $300...I'd read that somewhere else a whist back...suppose its good to have 2 competitors on the market to keep prices within the reach of the average consumer..
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We should hopefully have the 2nd part of the review ready to go live on monday. I spoke to our reviewer on friday and I think he's made a bit of progress, but in the early stages its quite hard to know if you are actually controlling the inputs or if its all randomness.
I've asked for someone "in the know" from OCZ to give him a call, so hopefully it'll help a bit.
yeah it did feel random at some points...I didnt really have enough time with it to make a full comment on it....but the alpha and beta readings did just seem haywire...until we collaborated it with a pure relaxed normal breathing chilled 30 seconds...then we noticed with that suddenly glance controls and muscle controls seemed to be alot more intune then our first attempt...which left me with the question is 30 seconds really long enough to calibrate a base line setting....
Just to keep you all in the loop:
We was due to publish an update to our review of the nia on Monday, but as new software was released yesterday, we've held off just a little longer to test things again.
By this avo/evening, update #1 should be live on the site
We was due to publish an update to our review of the nia on Monday, but as new software was released yesterday, we've held off just a little longer to test things again.
By this avo/evening, update #1 should be live on the site
Nice one Jim,
Look forward to reading it!
Look forward to reading it!
Day 12 - The first instalment of Chris (ins) Buer's experiences with the device has now been posted.
Check it out
Check it out
sounds like the new software changes the experience....it was really hard to basically act like you were brain dead to get a good baseline...sounds promising though...the glance feature though is seeming a bit elusive...how bigs yer brow line...I remember reading in the manual that this could effect the reading on glance...so cromagnum man hasnt got a chance...does that mean that people with a protruding brow line are less evolved...wow the NIA is evolution-acist, its a new kind of persecution....one up to OCZ for possibly creating a new kind of hate crime
Not bad, looking forward to the next bit of the log- lol at blue on blue in CSS that can't of been to good- the more you tried to stop it the more frantically you'd be running and gunning- a prime example of positive feedback lol.
Keep it coming!
Keep it coming!
Good update chris and some interesting stuff there. I like the way you control the character, although did you not find that playing 'un-relaxes' your mind? Just wondering
I'm really curious if this device helps lowering reaction times for trained people. I'm an avid FPS gamer and currently I get a 0.13 second average which gives a noticable edge in-game:
http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/8449/timermz9.jpg
I'd be quite happy if this thing could shave a something off that structurally. I'd remap melee/trigger/grenade-esque buttons to it immediately!
http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/8449/timermz9.jpg
I'd be quite happy if this thing could shave a something off that structurally. I'd remap melee/trigger/grenade-esque buttons to it immediately!
the problemis with most reaction tests though is that you know that your being tested and so your actual response time will be less then within a game, where you have to realise the situation then react accordingly, i dont think these tests can be accurate compared to a situational reaction time which is more real world and game world accurate, a good example is that on the NIA reaction time I scored a perfect zero (no joke), but thats because I was sat there and just guessed when the symbol was going to appear. Based on the physical mechanics of how your body moves and the speed in which a computer can read an electrical impulse then it will shave reaction times by the 60% it claims but thats just the maths talking, wether that actually translates into the real world is something to be seen.
I know what you mean by situational context, but it helps when you have your cursor on a place you know someone is going to pop up. Could be with a sniper, but also just watching a doorway, you just click faster when practised.
Scoring a zero happens often in these kinda games by guessing yeah, that's why you should use a variety of tests to see if the results are consistent. Some people show me this test with a single 0.05 result or something and brag, until I tell them the human reaction time limit is around 0.11 second and they just guessed xD
BTW with certain mice, the "click" is just slower making me score lower on these tests
I score consistenly faster with a deathadder when compared to an mx510/mx518. Scores on missionred.com etc are lower with the mx518 too. I'm just very curious how quickly the NIA can make your clicks.
(other thing -completely unrelated to the NIA- is that those reactions arent just theoretical ingame stuff only, measured them "offline" too & use them for competing in sports)
Scoring a zero happens often in these kinda games by guessing yeah, that's why you should use a variety of tests to see if the results are consistent. Some people show me this test with a single 0.05 result or something and brag, until I tell them the human reaction time limit is around 0.11 second and they just guessed xD
BTW with certain mice, the "click" is just slower making me score lower on these tests
I score consistenly faster with a deathadder when compared to an mx510/mx518. Scores on missionred.com etc are lower with the mx518 too. I'm just very curious how quickly the NIA can make your clicks.(other thing -completely unrelated to the NIA- is that those reactions arent just theoretical ingame stuff only, measured them "offline" too & use them for competing in sports)
I know what you mean about sports etc, but there reaction get better within that field of sports for example track running, waiting for the pistol, reaction times are just part of the benefits that could be experienced with the NIA, but reaction times are just part of gaming, ive taken plenty of people out inplenty of FPS that have better reaction times by using my cunning you might have the fastest reactions on the planet but running into a battlefield with a pair of your mums knickers on your head shouting "I am the wafflemaster" won't get you anywhere it does help having a good reaction time, but its not the be all and end all,
you might have the fastest reactions on the planet but running into a battlefield with a pair of your mums knickers on your head shouting "I am the wafflemaster" won't get you anywhere it does help having a good reaction time, but its not the be all and end all,I didn't claim it was the end-all did I? Reaction accuracy > reaction speed, and positioning and wits can help beat better aiming players.
I just want to map some buttons to it and hope they work FAST
In CoD4 I've got knife mapped to the keyboard atm, I often press it in a twitch when running into someone. If I could map it to my mind it'd save me buttons + it might be faster. That's what I'm hoping to see in this thread, whether or not it made you guys faster or even if it's just a decent replacement for the keyboard, keeping my fingers on the strafe keys.
What you say about sports isn't true btw, I've competed on a european level in martial arts for a decade and the reactions & coordination just carry over to mousing (ultra low sense mousing is similair to the lower arm motions in sporting). I've read plenty of examples online of athlethes picking up FPS games easily for similair reasons. Funny thing is that some of my other team members have something similair, their hand-eye coordination somehow carries over from guitar play, making their wrist-aim style really smooth =D
Edit: just read in Chris Buer's report that he is faster still with the mouse than with NIA. Any numbers available?
The eating while playing thing sounds difficult, I grab a small bite or a drink occasionaly while playing...
I just want to map some buttons to it and hope they work FAST
In CoD4 I've got knife mapped to the keyboard atm, I often press it in a twitch when running into someone. If I could map it to my mind it'd save me buttons + it might be faster. That's what I'm hoping to see in this thread, whether or not it made you guys faster or even if it's just a decent replacement for the keyboard, keeping my fingers on the strafe keys.What you say about sports isn't true btw, I've competed on a european level in martial arts for a decade and the reactions & coordination just carry over to mousing (ultra low sense mousing is similair to the lower arm motions in sporting). I've read plenty of examples online of athlethes picking up FPS games easily for similair reasons. Funny thing is that some of my other team members have something similair, their hand-eye coordination somehow carries over from guitar play, making their wrist-aim style really smooth =D
Edit: just read in Chris Buer's report that he is faster still with the mouse than with NIA. Any numbers available?
The eating while playing thing sounds difficult, I grab a small bite or a drink occasionaly while playing...
I agree....theres loads of real world applications that can be transferred into gaming....we supply some military tech companies that use simulations in training....wether its sports,military, guitar playing anything that increases reaction time and hand eye co-ordination is beneficial....I think you'll just have to have a go on an NIA and see what its like...coz it is quite a weird experience....and very difficult to explain the feeling of it....
A lot of people don't look at their hands when they play guitar... That wouldn't improve hand eye coordination.
I spose for the people that do though it could help.
I spose for the people that do though it could help.
I dont get your point Bengral, hand eye coordination does not require you to look at your hands, it requires you to synchronize what you are seeing with what your hands need to do...
Yeah, if you can finetune your wrist movements to that extent, high-sens mousing isnt hard either. It's just general muscle control.
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Originally Posted by name='Jaster'
I dont get your point Bengral, hand eye coordination does not require you to look at your hands, it requires you to synchronize what you are seeing with what your hands need to do...
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The guitar players I know don't look at anything?? They just play? That's my point. So that wouldn't help their hand eye coordination one little bit. It would improve their dexterity though.
right gotcha...but if you were reading music or tabs...then it would...or playing guitar hero ... but yeah if your doing it from memory it doesn't count....
... but yeah if your doing it from memory it doesn't count....Quote:
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Originally Posted by name='Jaster'
right gotcha...but if you were reading music or tabs...then it would...or playing guitar hero
... but yeah if your doing it from memory it doesn't count.... |
defo on hard and above..
Any1 know if Ninetendo have hit-up OCZ over this tech ? Be a heck of a wave crest to ride in connection to a Wii - oh and a bluetooth setup.
Nintendo would have a field day with software creations.
Nintendo would have a field day with software creations.
I can't find anywhere that has these in stock, when is ocz sending another batch of these out?
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Originally Posted by name='Ghaz'
I can't find anywhere that has these in stock, when is ocz sending another batch of these out?
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Any updates on how it plays?
UPDATE
Now at day 24 of using OCZ's nia, Chris [Ins] Buer gives us a video update of his progress.
Linky
Now at day 24 of using OCZ's nia, Chris [Ins] Buer gives us a video update of his progress.
Linky
Jim, are the embedded videos pointing to the same clip ?
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Originally Posted by name='Rastalovich'
Jim, are the embedded videos pointing to the same clip ?
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looks like the controls getting there...not convinced about the NIA director v's Gamer....seems a bit of a marketing stunt to me...plus the OCZ guy seems to be a bit nervous...keeps gulping a lot... but without seeing facial movement in sync with whats happening on screen it maybe just hes got jump attatched to gulp, sorry muscle....but considering 3 weeks ago it was difficult to use the learning curve seems to be flattening out somewhat...once mastered im sure thats when your reaction time is going to come into play...seen more emotiv stuff knocking arround...if price is competitive then maybe we'll witness our first BCI war, where people make almost retarded facial expressions at each other whilst playing the new street fighter
No updates?
Just to say get some inspection glasses with LEDs on and hook up some IR LEDs instead and just use that.
I've done it and its pretty good. http://forum.overclock3d.net/oc3d_gf...es/cussing.gifhttp://forum.overclock3d.net/oc3d_gf...es/cussing.gifhttp://forum.overclock3d.net/oc3d_gf...es/cussing.gifhttp://forum.overclock3d.net/oc3d_gf...es/cussing.gif for games but well fun.
I've done it and its pretty good. http://forum.overclock3d.net/oc3d_gf...es/cussing.gifhttp://forum.overclock3d.net/oc3d_gf...es/cussing.gifhttp://forum.overclock3d.net/oc3d_gf...es/cussing.gifhttp://forum.overclock3d.net/oc3d_gf...es/cussing.gif for games but well fun.
It's been 2-3 weeks since last "weekly" update, hasn't it?
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Originally Posted by name='SuperRoach'
It's been 2-3 weeks since last "weekly" update, hasn't it?
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by name='SuperRoach'
It's been 2-3 weeks since last "weekly" update, hasn't it?
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It seems very very difficult to master standing still with this device and the emotiv's device is around the corner really. This OCZ bubble might have burst already? judging by the lack progress updates as well.
I'll still maybe get the ocz nia anyway, but yeah... its taken too long, time to look forward to the emotiv..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzhTkVNkcxo
I've been recording myself the past few days while learning to use it. This one is from Day Three, with me playing Call of Duty 4. I can move!
I've been recording myself the past few days while learning to use it. This one is from Day Three, with me playing Call of Duty 4. I can move!
Whats happened in the community here, its almost dead!
I have the first weeks results video. I'm learning more about what function does which.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPfYDCNoy1c
The alpha and beta waves are a bit odd though... I don't think I can move them fast enough?
I have the first weeks results video. I'm learning more about what function does which.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPfYDCNoy1c
The alpha and beta waves are a bit odd though... I don't think I can move them fast enough?
Sorry mate, been well busy, yeah I watched your video, and I did comment, I still havent had chance really to play around with it much, tbh after having to conduct alot of backorders in the warehouse for them I'm sick of the site of them, think of it like you having your favourite food for every meal, its like that with the NIA everyone here seems to have one, if its not the NIA being talked about its bloody big brother, I think everyones gone mad...o wait a minute maybe it me who's the mad one...probably...
whens it due back in stock and whats the waiting list/time like on these?
rally temted to buy one as i hate the wasd keys and so have never given pc games the real chance they deserve, but not sure if that would be a help or a hinderance in learning nia commands?
to walk forward for instance what exactly do you have to do?
and what about navigating a desktop or o/s is it do-able?
rally temted to buy one as i hate the wasd keys and so have never given pc games the real chance they deserve, but not sure if that would be a help or a hinderance in learning nia commands?
to walk forward for instance what exactly do you have to do?
and what about navigating a desktop or o/s is it do-able?
we have them in stock and theres plenty available in the UK, I'd check the vids on youtube out, its not really a replacement more of an addition, some of our staff have had great results some haven't, I think its very dependent on how much time you have to "re-learn" and adapt to it.
that's the thing i never play pc games as i don't like the keyboard movement s i wouldn't have to re-learn, just learn. it seems intresting enough to buy.
That looks awesome. Does seem like it's completely controlled by your eyebrow movements though.
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OCZ Neural Impulse Actuator (nia) Review
and dont forget to DIGG IT