[Vintage Geek] found an interesting device from 1996 called “MindDrive” which claims you can control your computer with your brain. Oddly, though, it doesn’t connect to your head. Instead, it has a little finger sensor that looks like a pulse-ox sensor. Did it work? The video below will show you what it can and can’t do.
The company claims the device is the result of seven years of research. We suspect it is little more than a galvanometer, like a kid’s toy lie detector. There is a gold sensor and a Velcro strap. It is hard to imagine that it was feasible that “thinking left” would cause a change in your finger that the device can interpret.
The device came with software including things like “MindSkier” which is a scrolling ski game. [Vintage Geek] suspected it wouldn’t matter if he had the sensor on or not, but the software was smart enough to realize the sensor had no input. However, it was impossible to differentiate between random movement and just errors in “thought control.” The pinball game had the same issue. But it seems certain the games are just doing random actions.
The device received some press in its day, probably because one of the company’s partners, according to reports, was Walt Disney-owned Miramax studio. Miramax claimed that by 1997, they’d release short films controlled by your thoughts. Hmmm… The New York Times reported in 1996 that they didn’t believe the $140 device either. They compared it to a Magic 8 ball. They sidestepped the finger sensor with a grape and a wadded-up moist paper towel. Both of them ..
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