Eidos Is Futuristic Headgear That Enhances Your Senses

What if you could fine-tune your senses? Tim Bouckley, Millie-Clive Smith, Mi Eun Kim and Yuta Sugaware of Royal College of Art and Imperial College London found that “while we experience the world as many overlapping signals, we can use technology to first isolate and then amplify the one we want.” This technology is Eidos, two pieces of experimental equipment that selectively enhance vision and hearing by activating hidden powers of perception.

Inspired by photography and filmmaking, Eidos Vision enhances the way we see motion, achieving a similar effect to long-exposure photography but for live experience. A camera sits on a head-mounted display sending captured video to customized processing software, which then displays the altered image for the user in real time. By detecting and overlaying movement, it allows the user to see traces and patterns otherwise hidden to the naked eye. Think Muybridge's famous motion studies playing out before your eyes.

Eidos Audio allows for selective hearing. No, not the sort of “selective hearing” you may use on your significant other, rather it neutralizes distracting background noise and then amplifies a selected sound directly to the inner ear. This is achieved through directional microphones which capture audio input that is then passed through processing software before being outputted through speakers and transducers. The device is worn like a mask with two earpieces and a transductive mouthpiece that targets the inner ear using bone conduction. The overall effect is as though the selected sound is coming from inside your head. Can somebody cue The Matrix?

From idea generation to functional prototype, the equipment was developed in less than four months. After countless prototypes, the team designed a mixture of wearable materials and 3D printed parts using nylon SLS technology to house functional electronic components such a transducers, speakers, cameras, and display. The end result is something both technological and organic. I must admit I picked up on a Transformers vibe.

But perhaps what is most important is what EIDOS is not. When I asked Tim Bouckley where he felt EIDOS stood in comparison to augmented reality devices like Google Glass, Bouckley replied:

 From the outset Eidos was intended to provide a challenge to the kind of AR epitomised by Google Glass (et al.). Eidos is not about 'augmenting reality' in terms of overlaying or projecting screens and information on top of normal vision, but about directly modifying and enhancing the human senses, and therefore the fundamental way in which we perceive the world. We therefore consider Eidos to be a much more physical and visceral form of AR and are not solely interested in wearable technologies, but in how these technologies might one day be fully integrated into our bodies. It is not about virtually augmenting the world that surrounds us, but physically enhancing the senses bestowed upon us. Instead of augmenting the way we perceive reality, EIDOS enhances the way we sense it.

Besides sounding like one insanely awesome (or horrifying) acid trip, with applications from sport to health to culture Eidos boasts noteworthy benefits in areas where live audio and video analysis is valuable. Eidos proves technology is capable of adding value to the human body and extending the human experience.

Photos courtesy of Team Eidos.