Okay, it may not look like much, but what it does is really cool. From the article discussing the “mental typewriter” (typewriter?) over on New Scientist (Link):

A computer controlled by the power of thought alone has been demonstrated at a major trade fair in Germany.

The device could provide a way for paralysed patients to operate computers, or for amputees to operate electronically controlled artificial limbs. But it also has non-medical applications, such as in the computer games and entertainment industries.

There have been some previously-reported efforts to develop this sort of interface, but this one goes beyond the devices about which I’ve read. Seems like we’re on our way to having a version of Johnny’s cyberhelmet. Hopefully. Wearing the one above is not the fashion statement I want to make.

{Image source: Fraunhofer Institute}