In further proof that idle engineers are the most evil demographic in the world, I present to you the “Most Painful Toy Hack Ever”. Created by Aaron Rasmussen, co-founder of Harcos Laboratories, this hacked device monitors your brain activity and gives you a scream-out-loud electric shock as soon as you start concentrating as a way of making your friends laugh. That’s the sort of mixture of comedy and malevolence you can expect from Harcos. To promote their energy drinks (which look like mana potions, and bags of human blood) they’ve pulled a lot of crazy stunts using technology. They’re sort of the geeky version of Jackass. Watch the video below to see Rasmussen shock the crap out of himself, his co-founder Elijah Szasz, and the cast of SMBC-Theater. I never knew such hilarious antics could arise from combining BCI with electroshock therapy.

For a hack of a brain computer interface (BCI), the MPTHE is pretty cheap to build. Rasmussen says the entire project cost him around $105. That includes the BCI from a toy called MindFlex (~$80+), an electric shock card from Qkit (~$5), and various electronic parts. Harcos Labs has placed all the information you need to build your own MPTHE on their website. I’m sure hackers everywhere have already started to improve upon the design. We just saw the release of the first patient-ready BCI on the market. Maybe with that EEG they’d be able to do something more productive than shock you. As brain computer interfaces get more common, and accessible, I’m sure we’ll see some really incredible hacks, hopefully not all for evil.





[image and video credit: Harcos Laboratories]

[source: Harcos Laboratories]