Dowbrigade

Prepare to be remotely controlled. I
was.

Just imagine being rendered the rough equivalent of a radio-controlled
toy car.

Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp., Japans top telephone company, says
it is developing the technology to perhaps make video games more realistic.
But more sinister applications also come to mind.

I can envision it being added to militaries’ arsenals of so-called "non-lethal" weapons.

A special headset was placed on my cranium by my hosts during a recent
demonstration at an NTT research center. It sent a very low voltage electric
current from the back of my ears through my head _ either from left to
right or right to left, depending on which way the joystick on a remote-control
was moved.

I felt a mysterious, irresistible urge to start walking to the right whenever
the researcher turned the switch to the right. I was convinced _ mistakenly
_ that this was the only way to maintain my balance.

The phenomenon is painless but dramatic. Your feet start to move before
you know it. I could even remote-control myself by taking the switch into
my own hands.

And a new criminal defense strategy is born….

from AP Japan