Engineers at Stanford University have created a modified video game controller than can read and react to players’ emotions.
The controller enhancement, the prototype of which is fitted on the back of an Xbox 360 gamepad, measures both the pulse and respiration rates of players, which will indicate the amount of air going in and out of players’ lungs, thus indicating their bodies’ reaction to in-game events.
The Stanford engineers are working on using this controller to effectively change the way that video games react to the player. For instance, if a players’ heart rate slows while they are playing an “exciting” game, this means that they are less engaged with it, and so the engineers hope that they will be able to relay this information to the game which will then increase the amount of on-screen action.
On the other hand, if younger players are using the controller, the engineers want it to be modified so that parents can control the level of excitement a game generates, so as not to over-stimulate their children.
It’s an incredibly weird concept, but an intriguing one nonetheless. Watch the video of the prototype controller in action below.
