Mindflex - The telekinetic super kids of the future

I recently remembered how absolutely incredible direct brain interfacing is. In particular the emotiv headset really blew my mind - which was suppose to come out last Xmas - but got delayed. It should retail at about £150, which seems like a complete bargain when you consider how cutting edge it is.

The other day, a friend pointed me towards the Mindflex from the makers of Barbie, retailing at $79.99 (see the video at the bottom). It allows kid to control a hovering ball through a maze using the powers of their mind. When I was a kid all we had was Lego. Later generations got computer games, which my generation were just as keen on. The step from Lego and action figures to immersive computer games was a big step. But today and in years to come kids are going to have toys that allow them to manipulate matter with their mind.

What I do rate is that they are going back to a physical product rather than a virtual one, taking advantage of technology and the real affordances that are naturally found in the real world. Lego was great because it got kids thinking creatively. I recently had a session in Interactive Learning Environments at Sussex University, where some research students brought out a new Lego type toy. It had movable parts and kinetic memory that allowed kids to build robotic creatures and input movement sequences through real movement. Then when hooked up to a computer the toys could replicate the movements from memory. This got kids thinking about locomotion in a very engaging way. Give a kid a text book or write stuff on a black board and half of them switch off; totally disinterested. I’m a firm believer that getting kids engaged in learning by getting them involved in creative practise is the way forward. Especially if we don’t want a future of dull robotic kids with no creative drive; “Computaa saz noo!”

The potential of DBI toys for creative learning is surely enormous and highly rewarding for a kid as well. Mind you if kids’ obsessions with games like Guitar Hero and the stupidity of certain kids taking Grand Theft Auto to the streets are anything to go by; we could end up with an army of obsessed 10 year olds terrorizing the street with their new found super power, throwing home made weapons at people with the power of their mind. But with that aside, combining DBI technologies with Lego type creative toys could be really engaging for kids. Obviously the technology needs to get a bit more sophisticated than Mindflex; but if DBI entertainment takes off properly, competitive markets will drive some very innovative products.

In fact screw giving the kids these toys. I want to try it!