• World’s first telekinetic Google Glass app, aimed at a specialist audience, unveiled today
• MindRDR, a new application, which bridges Google Glass and Neurosky EEG biosensor, allows users to take photos and share them on Twitter and Facebook using brainwaves to navigate the user interface.
• Professor Stephen Hawking interested in application’s ongoing development
• Free application, released today on GitHub as open-source, is now available for users to upload to their device

The world’s first Google Glass application that enables people to control the wearable deviceusing their mind has been launched today. Developed by London-based user experience company This Place, MindRDR is a new free open source application which bridges the Neurosky EEG biosensor and Google Glass. It allows users to take photos and share them on Twitter and Facebook by simply using brainwaves alone. Future applications for the technology include enabling people with conditions like locked-in syndrome, severe multiple sclerosis or quadriplegia to interact with the wider world through wearable technology like Google Glass

MindRDR enables the Neurosky EEG biosensor – which measures brainwaves to translate brain activity into action – to communicate with Google Glass directly. This allows users to control actions on the device by simply concentrating and relaxing.

MindRDR, which took over 1,000 hours of development time, presents Google Glass wearers with visual feedback throughout the process to demonstrate how close they are to taking a picture, and then share it to social media channels.

Dusan Hamlin, founder and CEO of This Place, says: “Google Glass is one of the world’s most recognisable and popular pieces of wearable technology, but after getting our hands on it, we saw huge potential to incorporate EEG technology so it benefits the wider society. For example, MindRDR could enable those with locked-in syndrome, severe multiple sclerosis or quadriplegia the opportunity to interact with the wider world using Google Glass, as currently users either have to touch it or use voice commands, which are restrictive for those with certain disabilities. All we could think was: how can we make the user’s experience even better? We wanted to realise the true potential of Glass by allowing users to control it with their minds.”

MindRDR’s visual feedback is represented by a horizontal line that sits in the middle of the screen, which moves closer to the top of the screen the more users concentrate. The more they relax the further down the screen the line goes. Once the line reaches the top of the screen, Google Glass takes the photo. At the next screen users either concentrate to move the line to the top of the screen and share it, or relax to move the line to the bottom to discard the image and take another photo.

Chloe Kirton, creative director at This Place, says: “While MindRDR’s current capabilities are limited to taking and sharing an image, the possibilities of Google Glass telekinesis are vast. In the future, MindRDR could give those with conditions like locked-in syndrome, severe multiple sclerosis or quadriplegia the opportunity to interact with the wider world through wearable technology like Google Glass. This Place is already in conversations with Professor Stephen Hawking, amongst others, about the possibilities MindRDR could bring as the product evolves.”

Dusan Hamlin continues: “As a user experience company we’re constantly improving the way people interact with technology. Imagine a world where you can interact with wearable devices just by thinking about the content you want. That’s the world we’re building, and we’re just getting started.