Star Wars toy hands users access to The Force

by Stevie Smith - Jan 12 2009, 13:00

While science fiction aficionados looking to extend their commitment to the Star Wars universe can, if they wish, register to the Jedi religion, the mystical powers connected to The Force remain restricted to the realms of fantasy and imagination – or do they?

Shooting lightning from the fingertips or altering the thought processes of the weak minded might be out of reach, but an ambitious new Star Wars toy is being released that gives users the ability to exercise the power of their brains via pseudo levitation.

The tantalisingly titled Star Wars Force Trainer comes complete with a headset that channels the wearer’s focused brain activity and enables them to make a sphere rise and fall within a 10-inch clear training tower.

Despite the Force Trainer being labelled as a product designed specifically for the toy market, the product is set to arrive as the first mass-market brain-to-computer device based on technology used in medical EEG tests.

“It’s been a fantasy everyone has had, using The Force,” enthused Howard Roffman, president of Lucas Licensing, after the trainer was officially unveiled at last week's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

Most closely resembling something akin to the lightsaber trainer a budding Luke Skywalker uses in classic 1977 original Star Wars: A New Hope, the Force Trainer’s base unit is bolstered by famed Star Wars sound effects and audio clips – although it doesn’t come with a lightsaber.

The Force Trainer is expected to test the brains of U.S. consumers in the autumn for around $90 USD to $100 USD. Wannabe Jedi (or Sith) in Europe won’t have much longer to wait with retailers likely to take stock in the summer.

Around the Web