The only purpose of biometric components in mice and other peripherals was to help users authenticate, but Mionix looks to take things to a new level with the NAOS Quantified Gaming mouse.
The concept behind this ambitious project is to get a precise idea about how gamers are feeling while shooting others up (or when being shot at), and the impact of body reactions on their performance.
It may not sound like much, but in time, game developers might learn to adapt the action according to how gamers react. On the other hand, Quantified Gaming is all about noticing where things went wrong and what can be done to make them better.
The four factors that are taken into consideration for Quantified Gaming are heart rate, skin response, actions per minute and movement data. The first two are obviously captured using biometric sensors, while the other ones rely on different counters. All the stats are displayed using a transparent overlay, so that gamers are aware at all times of how they are performing.
Skin reactions, or in other words the amount of perspiration produced while gaming, could point out the moments when gamers were under a lot of stress. Learning how to react better could help gamers improve their stats.
That being said, not all gamers are excited about this biometric mouse. Some of them expected dynamic DPI depending on stress levels, while others claimed that they don’t need something to tell them when they’re stressed, as they’re all aware of that. There even are gamers who find the whole concept ridiculous, as they see no point in their mouse measuring their heart rate. Next thing you know we’re strapped to machines that scan our brains and measure our blood pressure while gaming. Oh, wait! Is that a thing, already?
Mionix Labs have turned to Kickstarter to crowdfund this mouse. The approach may seem a bit unusual for a well-established company, but on the other hand, what better way to measure the demand than by launching a crowdfunding campaign and see whether the funding goal is reached or not. Speaking of funding goals, the project has 33 days to get to $100K, and so far it’s 30% there. Pledging $89 will get you a NAOS QG in July 2015, supposing that the campaign is successful.
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