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    TR5.....MIND SWITCH - THINK APPLIANCES ON, OFF, OR ADJUST

    Original link (March 2000):
    http://www.phys.uts.edu.au/~asearle/mind_switch/m_switch.html

    OVERVIEW

    The Mind Switch refers to the technology that has been
    developed which allows a person to turn on and off an
    electrical appliance, such as a desk lamp or TV in 2-3 seconds
    using EEG signals, without training. Proportional control,
    such as turning up or down the volume of a radio is also
    possible with the technology. This research is being carried
    at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS).

    BACKGROUND - General

    Early in 1994 while studying the response of the brain to
    environmental factors Professor Ashley Craig and Mr Paul
    McIsaac of the Department of Health Sciences at UTS, noticed
    an effect which appears to be common among all persons. That
    effect is an increase in a particular brain signal when a
    person closes his/her eyes for more than one second. The
    important question that Ashley and Paul then asked was could
    this effect be used to do something useful?, ie - could the
    control of the brain signal be used, in turn, to control
    something else?

    At this stage Ashley contacted Professor Tony Moon, the Dean
    of Science at UTS, to find out if anyone could help answer the
    technical questions and design a system that might exploit the
    apparent change in the signal level when a person closes
    his/her eyes. Professor Moon introduced Ashley to Assoc Prof
    Les Kirkup who is a associate professor in the department of
    Applied Physics at UTS, who has experience in developing
    electronics and instrumentation.

    It was thought he could offer important input to the project.
    He was initially sceptical that signals as small as those that
    are present on the scalp, (where electrodes are placed to pick
    up brain activity) could be detected reliably and analysed
    sufficiently quickly to allow activation of an external
    device, such as a lamp or TV. The data that had been gathered
    on signal levels with eyes open and eyes closed showed that a
    significant increase occurred in the 8-13Hz part of the 'brain
    spectrum' commonly referred to as the 'alpha' region.

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