Meet the Board of Imagination: A Vehicle Controlled by Your Mind

on 7th Dec 2012

The Board of Imagination is exactly that: a longboard that moves to wherever you want to go.

Here’s how it works: The ‘standard’ longboard has an engine and proper wheels. It is basically a hack of several standard parts that now link together through customised connections and software – a perfect example of the Maker Movement: The board also features a Samsung tablet. This tablet receives information from an Emotiv headset, which is literally reading your thoughts or better where you wish to go to… The headset is a so called ‘non-invasive’ device to read the electrical impulses from chemical reactions that happen as a result to the interaction of billions of active neurons inside the brain. As the co-founder of Emotiv, Tan Le explains in this talk,

“The next generation of human-computer-interaction needs to evolve beyond the limits of conscious or direct inputs. Only conscious combined with non-conscious demands allow total communication.”

The man behind the Board of Imagination, Whurley is Appsterdam’s International Genius Grant recipient and in Amsterdam this week. I was able to see a panel discussion with him and others last night – Vaporware to Makerware. I will share more insights on the discussion early next week, but one topic was just this: There are more logical and exciting ways of interacting with technology than through software keyboards and computer screens. During the talk I realised that we are is a turning point: we still use technology from the old days, interfaces also known as a souvenirs from the time of the typewriter, but then – with the help of visionaries like Tan Le of Emotiv and Whurley – suddenly the screen and keyboard-less interfaces of Minority Report are within reach. One of Whurley’s quotes from last night:

“What we consider interfaces are not interfaces, it’s been brought over from the 70s.”

Meet the predecessor of the Board of Imagination, the Board of Awesomeness here >>

More from Chaotic Moon Lab’s here: They call themselves “rocket scientists that decided to focus on Mobile Media instead of dangerous rockets.” Great stuff.

About Christina Franken

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is a German architect who doesn't do buildings. She's a Social Designer in love with New Media / Mobile technologies and currently based in Amsterdam“ an ever changing urban playground. Find out what is going on in the design &...

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