The Force Trainer is a ''
Star Wars''-themed toy which creates the illusion of performing
Force-powered
telekinesis
Psychokinesis (from grc, ψυχή, , soul and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), or telekinesis (from grc, τηλε, , far off and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), is a hypothetical psychic ability allowing a person ...
.
The
brain–computer interface
A brain–computer interface (BCI), sometimes called a brain–machine interface (BMI) or smartbrain, is a direct communication pathway between the brain's electrical activity and an external device, most commonly a computer or robotic limb. B ...
toy, released was
Uncle Milton Industries' Star Wars Science line in 2009, comes with a headset that claims to sense the brain's electric fields (similar to an
EEG
Electroencephalography (EEG) is a method to record an electrogram of the spontaneous electrical activity of the brain. The biosignals detected by EEG have been shown to represent the postsynaptic potentials of pyramidal neurons in the neocortex ...
) and relays the signals to a tube that uses a fan to blow a ball into the air. The harder the user concentrates, the harder the fan blows, and the higher the ball is suspended. The voice of
Yoda
Yoda () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' universe, first appearing in the 1980 film ''The Empire Strikes Back''. He is a small, green humanoid alien who is powerful with the Force and is a leading member of the Jedi Order until it ...
instructs the user on developing their skills.
In a 2010 episode of the
College Humor series ''Bleep Bloop'', the hosts Jeff Rubin and Pat Cassels tested out the toy, even having a co-worker, Brian Murphy, play
Brain Age, a video game advertised as making you use your brain more, while he had the Force Trainer headset on.
One user of the toy argues that the brainwave effect of the Force Trainer II is fake; if the electrodes are connected directly to each other instead of being worn by the player, the game will proceed to play itself and pass all of the training exercises without any user input.
See also
*
Comparison of consumer brain–computer interface devices
References
External links
*
Mysterious "Force Trainer" Toy Explained via Archive.org, June 10, 2015
USA Today, January 7, 2009
Brain–computer interfacing
Star Wars merchandise
2000s toys
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