The Impulse Neuro-Controller Gaming Glove Lets You Fire Faster Than You Can Click a Mouse

Victory in video games — particularly online multiplayer games — often comes down to latency. The time it takes for the server to update, the time it takes for your internet connection to send a command to that server, and the time it takes for your controller to send a signal to your computer all add up. That fraction of a second can mean the difference between who gets the first shot in and who dies. Server latencies of more than 100ms are usually considered unacceptable, but the time it takes you to click your mouse can actually exceed that. The Impulse Neuro-Controller dramatically reduces that time by detecting muscle impulses as soon as they happen.

The Impulse Neuro-Controller, which is currently in the crowdfunding stage on Kickstarter, utilizes the same kind of technology that lets amputees control robotic prosthetic limbs. When you decide to curl a dumbbell, for example, your brain sends an electrical impulse to the muscle fibers in your bicep telling them to contract. The Impulse Neuro-Controller takes advantage of those electrical impulses to detect when you’re intending to flex one of your fingers. The controller is able to detect those signals and send a mouse click to your computer faster than you can physically push the button on your mouse. The ad copy on Kickstarter claims that your computer will receive that mouse click up to 80ms faster when you’re wearing the Impulse Neuro-Controller.

The device itself resembles a fingerless glove and is designed to be used in conjunction with your mouse as reinforcement. It can be used with any computer mouse and simply plugs into a spare USB port on your computer. When you first start using the Impulse Neuro-Controller, you need to train its machine learning model to work with your unique biology. That basically means that you’ll click your mouse over and over again until it learns to accurately recognize when you’re flexing a finger to click the mouse. After training, you can start using the Impulse Neuro-Controller for gaming. 80ms may not seem significant, but it is enough to give you a tangible advantage in competitive games. That’s especially true for first-person “twitch” shooters like the games in the Call of Duty franchise. The Impulse Neuro-Controller only works for PC gaming, as the software needs to run on your computer, but PC gamers are exactly the people who will appreciate this technology.

The Kickstarter campaign for the Impulse Neuro-Controller just launched, and has nearly reached its funding goal. It will continue running until December 10th. Early birds can get the glove for CA $162 (about $124 USD) and rewards are expected to be delivered in May of 2021.