Digital Media and Learning Competition - Young Innovators

http://www.dmlcompetition.net/young.php

Competition Winners for 2009

Energy Sharing through Chat Application

Initial Proposal

An online chat application will be developed to visually display the subjective experience of energy sharing (focused intent) via brain frequency. Chat participants will be able to observe where shifts occur in their mode of consciousness as well as the consciousness of recipients. The participants' brainwaves will be interpreted by a brain controller device and will be transmitted through the chat application. Participants should be able to use this application as feedback for discovering and achieving different states of consciousness. Through accrued feedback, participants can develop guidelines for "energy sharing" through the participatory alteration of consciousness. Participants will also learn to improve and enhance their cognitive and rhetorical abilities through the feedback of the application and interaction with other participants.

It is proposed that participants will reach a better understanding of the \"Mu\" rhythm and Theta states that are reached during meditation and playing video games. This application and study can be applied to further advancement in video game design as well as advancing human consciousness. Ultimately this application will be used for an online immersive video game university.

This proposal will be comprised of three parts.

1. Initial study of brain frequency and energy sharing

--- This study will entail measuring brain frequency using an EEG on individuals while they meditate and share energy with others. The goal of this study will be to identify the general brain waves involved with focused energy sharing, how these frequencies appear when energy is localized/directed onto particular parts of the body, and how/where this energy is received.

2. Apply brain frequency study to brain controller technology

--- This portion of the project will depend on the participation of one or more companies who have developed brain controller technologies. One brain controller device must be chosen that best measures and interprets the particular brain frequencies determined in part one of the proposal. A dialogue must then be developed with the chosen company to better program the software application.

3. Develop an online chat application

--- An open source chat application such as Pidgin will be revised to send and receive the representations of brainwave activity transduced by the brain controllers. This application will consist of graphics representing the chat participants so they can see where exactly the subjective "energy" is being directed and received. The participants' interaction will be displayed with color and sound. The arrangement of the chat application will allow for instant verbal and/or written feedback between participants to confirm the accuracy of the energy sharing. Testing of this application will require that participants focus on the same areas studied in part one of the proposal during "energy sharing." Testing of the application will take place at a distance to help calibrate the software for distance sharing.

The Objective

The objective of this study and application is to better understand the effects of brain frequency involved in participatory gaming. This chat application will allow participants an environment to explore their awareness and learn how to focus that awareness in sharing. The study and chat application will also allow for further exploration into the available functionality of the brain controller technology as it applies to gaming. Ultimately this can be applied to telemedicine and telehealth as described by emerging International Standards such as IEC/ISO 80000-15.

Additional study could be done on mapping basic scales with colors generated during energy sharing to produce new languages and code for musical applications. Participants could essentially create music with controlled emotional energy.

Internship

The proposed internship for this grant will not involve physical placement but rather weekly to monthly digital communication as well as up to two in-person meetings before and during the grant term. There are several possible non-profit organizations that would suit the project needs. The role of the internship relationship will be to provide support with the brain controller hardware company and help in maintaining standards with research and software deployment. It will also be encouraged for the supporting organization to actively take part in the development, testing and implementation of the chat application to ensure that standards are being met. It will be important to maintain communication with the chosen organization through the entire duration of the project.

Role in Participatory Learning

The proposed chat application will assist participants in advanced social and rhetorical structures. A feedback loop between participants, both sender and receiver, will be visually displayed in the chat application for further learning and growth. This application will bring a vulnerability that will encourage honesty in communication by making it necessary for openness of the participant on the receiving end. The application's feedback structure will allow participants to analyze each other's shift in energy accompanying written, verbal and/or visual (video) feedback. Participants will be able to use many forms of feedback to analyze their communication with others.

This application should bring participants to a better awareness and understanding of their own environment as the application requires that participants remain open and aware during communication/energy sharing. Through the use of the application, participants will improve their ability to maintain similar levels of awareness in their daily lives as demonstrated in existing biofeedback therapy. This will also encourage participants to assess their daily interactions with more awareness to energy sharing and emotional feedback.

Further development in video game technology (mainly software) and nanotechnology will be pursued in order to advance the chat application's approach to participatory learning. Though this application can be used within an educational structure, it can also be applied to further study in human development and consciousness. For example a possible future application of the proposed technology could involve the interaction between an infant and it's parent. With this technology the parent could learn to be receptive to the child's emotional state and gain a better understanding of the child's needs, without the need for verbal communication.

Future features and application developments.

Implementation

As shown with biofeedback therapy, success of the project will be indicated when participants are able to maintain the relaxed state learned with the application, appearing calm and aware. Success of the project will also be clear with the implementation of the technology and research to future games and applications. Additionally this project will help in the development of standards for video game and brain controller technology by aiding non-profit organizations in defining boundaries for their future oversight.

The most challenging portions of this project will be research and analysis of the EEG testing and the transfer of those results to the modification of the open source chat application. If the project appears to be struggling in these areas counsel will be sought with the internship organization and any other qualified industry professionals. Milestones not being reached will be a good indication of the project being in jeopardy.

If the EEG analysis does not show a correlation with brainwave patterns and the participants' focused intent then the project will be perceived as failing. If the project is unable to progress to the second portion of the proposal then more intensive research will be done in order to aid in biofeedback and telehealth.

This project will use copyrighted brain controller technology. Third party involvement from the brain controller companies will be necessary for the development of the project.

How can the subjective experience of energy sharing be transmitted via brain frequency?

Thinking, Emotions, and the Brain - Cognition, Emotion and the Brain a Different View-Alexander Savitsky copyright - alexander savitzky - 1996.

"Most work on the cognitive and the psychophysiological sciences is grounded on the notion that we receive information about objects and events by sense organs. The information is coded and transmitted by neurons to the brain, where it is processed, represented and stored. Psychological operations, such as perception, thoughts, emotion etc. are, according to this suggestion, performed by the brain. But no code or process has been found, by the means of which information about any object is passed on to the brain or by which it is processed, represented or stored there. The reason for this failure does not derive from the lack of technological means, but, in the view of this article, from a misleading conception of the psychophysiological process."

Understanding Brain Frequency

What are brain waves and how do you measure them? What states of consciousness result for each type of frequency?

Theta is the frequency range from 4 Hz to 7 Hz. Theta is seen normally in young children. It may be seen in drowsiness or arousal in older children and adults; it can also be seen in meditation.

An Anatomical View on Emotions

Supporting Links

Evolving Immersive Video Game University grant proposal

Research in Brain Controller technology

Research and charting of Video Games and Consciousness

FreeStyleN for the grant!

Bootstrapping

BrainwaveRaga

BrainwaveBinauralBeat