Since I'm no Yoda, I still need my EEG headgear-which Jedi Uncle Milton built for me and sells as the Star Wars Force Trainer. It picks up my brain waves from sensors on a wireless headset and beams them to the receiver, which moves a floating ball in a tube only if I concentrate just so.

Just as Obi-Wan taught me, I relaxed my mind, unfocused my eyes, like trying to decipher the Snowspeeder Magic Eye poster I had hanging above my bed back home. No dice.

But just as the nearby goblin with flames for hair began to mock me, up it spins. Oh, there it goes, oh glorious Force! The ball is spinning! But R2, being unable to contain himself whenever shit starts levitating around him, of course ruins my concentration with his incessant beeping. But I did it, I really did it.

In all honesty, I think Qui-Gon may have been behind a nearby curtain, giving me a bit of a boost. Because from the point before the ball started spinning to when it took to the air, the only thing I did was cross my arms in disgust. Maybe that's the sneakiness of the force—or maybe I only mesh with the DARK SIDE. Time to go drink a few dozen Midichlorian smoothies while I think things over.

The Star Wars Force Trainer, and EEG-like brain wave game that kind of works, will go on sale later this year for $100-$130. Video by the level-31 fire-headed Dark Side goblin also known as Matt Buchanan [Toy Fair 2009]

This will require two cameras, one for video chat and the other for the "hand reading," but it opens a lot of possibilities. To start with, the entire keyboard can become a gesture control pad without even having to touch the surface. In addition to that, it can be combined with actual touch technology to identify single fingers on the surface, with the possibility of assigning specific functions to them.

The system even contemplates combining all this with accelerometers and force sensors, so the touch action can generate secondary data. One example of this may be applying a deformation effect to an image or a sound effect to a music track, giving it more or less strength depending on the force you use in your action. [USPTO via Unwired View]

It's better than other headphones since it supports the mic, and with the mic you can talk softly while still being heard. Which is great, since playing Nintendogs on the subway really gets you that authentic fresh urine smell. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Turtle Beach via Gadgetell]

Hit the jump to hear what we think about this (warning, self-playing audio).

– Jason Chen

Force Feedback on PS3? Not So Much [1up via Kotaku - Suck it McWhertor]