Mind-Controlled Magnets Move A Fluorescent Green Pool

Known for creating experimental devices like a tattoo-powered musical instrument and a gravity-defying speaker, gizmo hacker :vtol: has teamed up with art scientist Julia Borovaya, robotics engineer Edward Rakhmanov, and neurophysiology professor Alexander Kaplan to construct a magnetic pool of liquid controlled by human brainwaves.

Known as Solaris, referring to the seminal sci-fi film that features an alien planet whose surface swirls according to astronauts' emotions, participants are linked to the pool by a brainwave-reading headpiece called the Emotiv Epoc. This neural interface sends signals to a motorized magnet embedded beneath the pool, effectively allowing the brain to control the movement of the liquid depending on the strength and formation of their focus. Since the magnet influences a body of magnetic liquid within the green goop, the brain—through two degrees of separation—this amorphous magnetic blob is controlled by thought.

According to the Solaris project description, once participants had a bit of practice, they were able to exercise deft control over the liquid. "The object copies your mental organization and echoes it on the liquid's surface," writes :vtol:. "The object becomes a part of the participant."

The latest development in a long—and growing—line of brainwave-integrated art, the versatility and potential for growth Solaris offers has us generating a few very excited brainwaves of our own. Once we have a brainwave-powered Netflix machine, we're pretty sure civilization will grind to a halt—but until then, we're more than happy to play around with :vtol:'s magnetic brainwave-powered pool.