Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Epoc Can Read Minds

Detecting your expressions, understanding your emotions, and moving objects with your mind...

sounds like something from the future but it's here today. I just got around to reading the December 2008 edition of Inc. "How to Launch a Billion Dollar Idea" which introduced me to Tan Le, Emotiv co-founder which produced the Epoc headset. This technology can literally read your mind! While it seems to be making a dent in the video game industry (allowing gamers to move virtual objects) I imagine this product could make waves in the ocean of research. All brands dream of truly understanding consumers, and this could be the window into their brains. Imagine Brand X shows you a commercial with this contraption on your head. Perhaps the software can collect your expressions, capture your feelings towards their ad, and compile this data to form a true read on their ad. Often times people cannot express their true emotions, not because they mean to hide them, but because they are human. Maybe the Epoc could help lessen the gap between what people say and do. The article briefly mentions a similar company called EmSense which Coke used for making decisions about their Super Bowl ads. EmSense CEO Keith Winter says "The market research business is worth billions. It's an ocean. Gaming is a pond" and we all know gaming is a very large pond.

3 comments:

Mary Jane said...

This is quite interesting...but the guy at the end makes me crack up. The gaming industry is a pond? The market research industry is worth billions? Clearly this guy doesn't realize that Activision alone has a projected revenue of $4.05 billion in 2009...

Amanda said...

MJ - I agree, that is why I had to call it a very large pond :) The article made it sound as though it was this great wisdom by quoting him, and while I agree that the market research industry is huge, I’m not familiar with the numbers in comparison to the gaming world. Perhaps the gaming industry is the ocean.

Alan said...

I think its funny that you two are commenting on this when you sit right next to each other. :)