#ZEONIC TECHNICS Lets You Control a Toy Zaku with Your Mind

“#ZEONIC TECHNICS Lets You Control a Toy Zaku with Your Mind”

A researcher dons a XB-01 cerebral bloodflow sensor and operates a motorized, remote control Zaku toy by issuing it mental commands interpreted by a smart phone app as part of the ZEONIC TECHNICS Robotics and Programming Course I.

Newtype technology may be closer to reality than ever before, because Bandai and NeU (a joint venture between Tohoku University and Hitachi High-Tech) have developed a suite of hardware and software that allows the user to remote control a miniature Zaku toy using signals from their brain.

The experiment combines the hardware of NeU's XB-01 headset, a small sensor that monitors cerebral bloodflow via near-infrared spectroscopy, with the software of Bandai's "ZEONIC TECHNICS Robotics and Programming Course I", a smart phone app that allows users to remote control a miniature toy Zaku.

Information from the sensor is relayed via wi-fi to the smart phone app, which interprets the brain activity and allows the user to input 3 pre-programmed commands based on the amount of cerebral bloodflow. The commands are then sent to the motorized Zaku toy via wi-fi, and the toy moves in response.

A promotional photo of the miniature Zaku toy, a tablet computer running the ZEONIC TECHNICS smart phone software, and the XB-01 sensor for the "ZEONIC TECHNICS Robotics and Programming Course I" experiment.

While the experiment of combining the two technologies was successful, it is still currently undecided whether the results will be developed into a commercial product or not.

Source: Anime! Anime!

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