Change the Channel With Your Brain: BBC Experimenting With Mind-Controlled TV Remotes

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The UK is one step closer to having complete mind control over its citizens — but it’s not 1984 just yet.

According to a June 18 RT article, the BBC is now experimenting with technology that would allow people to change the television channel without so much as lifting a finger.

The state-funded broadcasting network is testing out these prototype “mind control” remotes, which consist of headsets that monitor brain activity, on select staff. These headsets respond to the wearer’s thoughts, making it possible to control what’s on the television with just one’s mind.

Cyrus Saihan, author of the BBC blog post that publicized these experiments, said this headset could make the TV remote as we know it an obsolete object of the past. And even though the technology is still in its preliminary stages, BBC researchers are already seeing positive results.

“So does it work?” Saihan wrote. “In a word, yes. Our first trial run saw 10 BBC staff members try out the app, and all were able to launch BBC iPlayer and start viewing a program simply by using their minds. It was much easier for some than it was for others, but they all managed to get it to work. And it’s been a similar story for everyone who’s tried it out in our BBC technology Blue Room since.”

Our first trial run saw 10 BBC staff members try out the app, and all were able to launch BBC iPlayer and start viewing a program simply by using their minds.
Our first trial run saw 10 BBC staff members try out the app, and all were able to launch BBC iPlayer and start viewing a program simply by using their minds.

When more than 50% of households in America have at least four devices requiring remote controls in their living rooms, being able to control all these devices with a simple headset could cut out massive amounts of clutter. Losing the remote would become a non-issue. Someday, you could even be able to change the radio station in your car without taking your eyes off the road.

Those who would especially benefit from a mind-controlled remote are disabled or paralyzed individuals, making it much more accessible for them to access entertainment and give them more power over the kind of TV content they see.

“For example, people affected by motor-neuron disease or suffering locked-in-syndrome may increasingly be able to use brain-computer interfaces to get a better experience of digital and media services than they currently do, potentially opening up the online world of information and experiences that the rest of us now take for granted,” Saihan explained.

While the BBC says its mind-controlled headsets won’t be available for widespread use for the foreseeable future, there’s no denying that this technology could forever change the way we entertain ourselves.

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