DC Virtual Reality in VA –Brain-Computer Interfaces

Having your brain interacting directly with a computer is no longer something out of Science Fiction. Instead, it has become an active research topic in regards to Virtual Reality. This month we have Paras Kaul who will lead us through using neurofeedback devices with a VR headset.

Join us at the latest DCVR NoVA chapter meeting on Wednesday, March 25th at 7:00 at Nova Labs in Reston, VA.

Paras will introduce a prototype for a mobile Brain-Computer-Interface (BCI) and demonstrate how the BCI provides visual representations of brain wave frequencies in the left and right brain hemispheres. Her presentation proposes the development of a brain wave interactive VR game that is a training tool designed to self-regulate neural activity and reprogram the brain for enhanced performance and rehabilitation. She will demonstrate how neurofeedback can be used to animate an avatar for VR game worlds. Immersive brain wave technology guides us toward a new paradigm for understanding energy and our innate human ability to manage our own well-being. Learning to control how our brains respond to energy enables us to take control of the individual healing process. This type of training has the potential to transform preventive health care practices by demonstrating the power the brain has to regulate the physical body and move healthcare a step forward in personalized treatment.

Paras Kaul, a DCSIGGRAPH board member and former adjunct assistant professor at GMU and Cal State, LA uses neurofeedback to produce brain wave music and animation. She experiments with brain-to-computer-interfaces (BCI) for brain wave interactive VR gaming—intended to train the brain for rehabilitation and well-being. After completing a Master of Fine Arts Degree at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, she was a production assistant at Digital Effects in NY and later had assistantships at Omnibus located at Paramount Studios, Hollywood and Real Time Design in Chicago. At Mississippi State University, as an assistant professor in a Graduate Program for Electronic Visualization, she founded a professional chapter of SIGGRAPH. She has been an invited speaker to France, Australia, and the UK—where she presented her brain wave gaming research at the Dana Centre Museum of Science in London.

Remember, there is plenty of free parking! Everyone is welcome to come early and have a tour of the facility. Tours of Nova Labs will also be available newcomers!
AGENDA:
6:30 pm – Informal gathering/tours of Nova Labs
7:00 – 7:15 pm – Intro with Steve Sheets
7:15 – 7:39 pm – Open Forum for Announcement and other VR News
7:30 pm – 8:30 pm – Presentation by Paras Kaul
8:30 pm – 9:00 pm – Q&A/Wrap Up
Before and after the meeting, there will be an Open Discussion. Please feel encouraged to bring any of your own devices that would help the topics.
Join us at DCVR in VA. We will meet once a month in a variety of rotating locations. Contact Steve Sheets (magesteve@mac.com) or Joseph Cathey (jcathey@capitol-interactive.com) if you have suggestions for topics, or are interested in presenting.