View The Canada AM segment on these toys here 

For many decades, hospitals have been using Electroencephalogram machines (EEG) to measure brain activity among patients with seizures, sleep disorders, forms of paralysis, and other conditions. Electrodes on the scalp pick up brainwave activity, sending them to printers or computers to be recorded and studied.

The EasyCap Active by Brainproducts.com 

Now toy companies are using the same technology to create unique science games that allow players to use their brainwave frequencies to physically levitate a ball into the air and guide it through a range of exercises.

Aimed at both kids and adults, the toys will fulfill the fantasy of having special powers, such as telekinesis or the use of “The Force” from the Star Wars films, while at the same time offering a glimpse into a future where our minds and technology will meet more often.

Can You Really Levitate A Ball With The Power Of Your Mind?

To be honest, there is an illusion at work here. Both toys operate in the same way, using the same concept. The signals recorded from your brain are sent to a computer, which in turn powers a fan, and it’s this that lifts the ball into the air. It’s the strength of those signals coming from your mind that tell the computer how fast to spin the fan.

The computer is looking for Beta waves, the kind your mind produces when you concentrate, are alert, or mentally performing tasks. When such signals are very strong, the computer powers the fan to spin faster, lifting the ball higher. When those signals are weak, it reduces the fan’s speed and the ball lowers.

To put it simply, when you concentrate, the ball rises, and when you relax, it lowers.

How Accurate Is It?

Real EEG machines can use dozens of electrodes, require powerful signal amplifiers, and are used to record five different types of brain waves (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Theta), often with the assistance of conductive gel and little needles to help the electrodes enter the skin.

The new toys use just three simple electrodes and are aimed at detecting only one (Beta) type of brainwave, and at a very low power. This makes it comparable to the “toy” versions of microscopes, metal detectors, and lasers. It’s real enough to teach users the scientific concepts involved, but not powerful enough to do any harm.

Star Wars Force Trainer

$150 (now launching) 

Uncle Milton Toys

Ages 8+

Here we have science being used to deliver the fantasy of "the force" from the Star Wars movies. The voices of Yoda and R2-D2 are used to guide players to levitate a ball (decorated like Luke’s training probe) up to three different heights, all to the accompaniment of sound effects and music from the popular films.

The game includes a wireless headset, similar to a pair of light headphones. Plastic arms place one electrode behind each ear and a third against your temple. Easy to adjust for different head sizes, it’s quite comfortable to wear.

It communicates with a small console that supports a large tube. Markings on the tube divide it into three sections, numbered from one to three and the ball is trapped inside.

The game is simple. Yoda asks you to move the ball into one of the numbered sections of the tube. When you bring the ball to that height and hold it long enough, he’ll direct you to another section. When you complete his requests, R2-D2 lets out squeals of delight and the ball drops back into place.

A button on the headset allows you to choose between a practice mode and the training exercises. The training will take you through fifteen levels of difficulty, from “Padawan” in which you must simply lift the ball slightly, to “Jedi Master” where you must move the ball through a complex series of requests, holding it in specific sections for long periods.

That’s it, and yes, it seems very basic once you’ve gone through the motions and placed the ball into the three sections. It’s not hard to do.

The fun comes from trying to reach a level of precision in the game and listening to Yoda who guides you with such choice quotes as:

“Improving, you are”

“Good, much you have learned”

“Peaceful, you’re mind is”

The link to Star Wars is definitely cool and the game itself makes for a fun science toy, although not one I feel that lives up to its $150 price tag. For that, I’d like to see more to do within the activity itself.

Mindflex

$100 (launching in October)

Mattel

Ages 8+

Mattel’s approach is to turn the ball-lifting activity into a family board game for 1-4 people. Players take turns wearing the headset while trying to guide the hovering ball through an interchangeable obstacle course. The computer times each run, announcing the winner with the shortest time.

The game includes a single, wireless headset. An adjustable, elastic headband places one electrode tightly against your temple while two dangling alligator clips attach electrodes to your ears by clamping down on your lobes. The effect is, admittedly, rather silly-looking enough that it’ll be a deal breaker for some, but it does allow for a larger range of head sizes and more direct contact with the electrodes themselves.

The console it communicates with supports a circular track that the fan can travel along. A blue, foam ball is placed on the fan nozzle and when it receives the right signals from your brain, hovers in the air with no need for added support. It just floats there, suspended in mid-air. The stronger the signals the console receives from you, the higher it hovers.

While the ball is powered by your mind, the fan itself moves along a mechanical track that you operate with a large knob. The idea is that you use your mind to make the ball float and then turn the knob to move the fan along the track and it carries the floating ball with it.

The obstacle course itself is one you build using a selection of plastic parts included in the box. These fit simply into holes placed along the sides of the tracks. They create little structures that you must raise and lower the ball through to pass. There are towers with adjustable rings and cage-like structures for the ball to climb through. Funnels and cannons will launch the ball off-course if you’re not careful, and a teeter-totter and a propeller wheel that allow the ball to take a little ride.

These parts are easy to assemble, but getting the ball to work with them can be a little awkward. It’s easy for the ball to get knocked off and sent rolling on the floor, or to get stuck within the pieces themselves. It works, but requires some patience and understanding.

Supporting the system are a number of sounds and lights. A row of LEDs, for example, show how strong of a signal the console is receiving from your brain, gauging it between one (weak) and five (strong) levels. A computer voice guides you through the different game modes and keeps track of scores. Finally, a set of embedded lights help divide the track into different sections, allowing the console to target specific areas.

Together these provide for five different games:

Freestyle is a practice mode where you can work on raising and lowering the ball with precision.

Mental Marathon challenges players to complete the obstacles in the shortest time.

Danger Zone uses the lights to create areas that you must quickly move the ball out of (with or without obstacles).

Chase The Lights asks you to move the ball to each light as it becomes lit.

Thoughtshot is my favorite. You set up the cannon and direct it towards the funnel. Each time you launch the ball through the cannon and into the funnel, you get a point. Whoever has the most points, wins.

While these activities deliver a more interesting use of the levitating ball, they don’t quite assemble into the kind of fun board game it’s trying to emulate. It’s hard to imagine the average family gathering around to play it one weeknight the same way many do for scrabble or monopoly.

With Mindflex, I think Mattel is on the right track, they just need to go back to the drawing board and work on their execution.

Like the Star Wars Force Trainer, Mindflex is a cool science toy, but one I don’t feel measures up to its high price tag.

Educational Value

High price tags aside, both toys deliver a unique and memorable experience. They explore concepts that have an intriguing role in our future. Researchers around the world are looking at different ways to use this technology to provide people with systems that allow them to control wheelchairs, interact with computers, deliver commands to robots, and perform complex tasks beyond our normal capabilities. Toys like these can deliver a strong, educational benefit and I hope manufacturers receive the kind of helpful feedback that motivates them to continue to design more models beyond these first two.