Might As Well Jump

Laszlo Laufer and Bottyan Nemeth, two Hungarian researchers at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, have found that gamer’s button pressing is predicatable two seconds beforehand based on skin conductance. Using a basic game called YetiSports JungleSwing that involves a yeti jumping from tree to tree, they measured volunteer’s heart rate, skin conductance and electrical activity. After analysis of the data, they found that skin conductance by itself is enough to predict a jump two seconds before the player does it.

They think the technology could have useful applications for pilots among others, helping to speed up reaction time. They also see usefulness in computer games that could incessantly piss you off by predicting your next move. Sensors could probably easily be built into the next generation of console controllers with feedback actually affecting gameplay. To what extent is obviously unknown, but this should come in handy when somebody creates a game where you have to fight a gun-wielding psychic.