Hardware News

Nuggets: Brainwaves and retinal projections... no really

Justin Pearse ZDNet.co.uk

Published: 13 Jan 1999 18:59 GMT

For every day on ZDNet UK News - barring weekends of course -- there will be a Nugget provided by our very own gadget man, Mr Justin Pearse. Each day Justin will tell us what the technology firms are planning to tempt us with in ‘Nuggets', be it hardware or software.

At the end of the month we will provide a roundup of our favourites and, if you're lucky, may even provide you with the opportunity to win them.

Heard a rumour about a plan for a new gadget or software? Seen a device on your travels you weren't sure about? Tell 'Nuggets' and we'll spread the word.

BrainWaves? Oh yeah, cool man...

Flotation tanks? Smart drugs? Meditation? Recreational chemicals? If you've tried all of these and more in the elusive search for that perfect altered state of consciousness then you'll probably want to check out the BrainWave Generator.

This brain stimulation software from Noromaa Solutions uses binaural beats to change the dominant frequency of the brain, a process called brainwave entrainment. This allegedly produces effects that include relaxation and meditation, alleviating headaches, inducing sleep and increasing IQ. The various parameters of the programme can be altered until you achieve the state of mind you're after. Unfortunately all it gave me was a headache.

Turn on and tune in at www.bwgen.com.

I can see clearly now...

Wouldn't it be fun if full colour images from your PC could be projected directly onto the back of your eye rather than having to stare at a monitor screen?

Microvision has unveiled a new technology that will do just that. Virtual Retinal Display works by having a low-power laser beam project thousands of colour image pixels directly onto the viewer's retina. Microvision reckons the VRD provides exactly the same brightness, resolution and colour range as the human eye. Up to now VRD technology has been used mainly in military headsets, but Microvision says consumer versions are just around the corner... Scary!