Today is Friday, October 31.
Halloween.
We both decided at 4:00 that we would be better off working a bit more than laying here staring at the ceiling.
With both of us getting up we changed into work clothes, jeans and an old t-shirt.
We made it to the warehouse and got straight into work.
Layla went back to making car parts and I decided to look into VR again.
EEG machine prices vary widely based on application, ranging from $100–$500 for consumer wellness headbands to $20,000–$150,000+ for clinical-grade diagnostic systems.
Research-grade portable systems cost between $1,000–$25,000, offering a balance of high-quality data and mobility for researchers.
It looks like $25,000 is the price for an EEG machine that is high enough quality and portable. Which is exactly what I need to build a real VR headset.
While I was looking for this I found another company that had a similar idea to mine. However, they wanted to use brain waves to control the character while you still have to use a current VR device.
Which is just a screen in goggles.
They are also apparently not very good. The reviews are not great, and for a $42,000 price tag. There was never a chance to enter the general market.
Now back to the EEG machine. While the price for the machine is expensive, I am mainly getting it to upgrade, and then produce the technology cheaper myself.
However, the big shortcoming is that the way to get the brain imaging system to work is to apply the data to an AI that compares it all together to build an image.
What I don't have is the data or the AI. I can build the AI, but the data is tied to medical data and I don't feel good about stealing that.
Especially if I am going to market it, and the company that is doing this is not going to sell the data to me.
VR was always going to be a future problem, but that has become much more apparent.
The lucid dream inducing headband cost $2,000.
But this also has various ethical concerns because I am taking a made technology and basically upgrading it to resell it which could be a patent violation.
From what Foolgle tells me it is indeed patented. Which does not look good for me, because most of the open access patents are not that good.
I did manage to find a few that would work, but boy will I need to put in some work.
While Layla and I were getting immersed in our work I heard a commotion outside.
I went to investigate while Layla was still lost in her work. Outside was a large excavator and dumptruck.
It seems the excavator is here to do the ground work for the other buildings. It had rained two days ago so it was delayed, until today it seems.
I had made some changes to the blue prints so I went to go tell him just to make sure it wasn't a problem.
He said that it wasn't, which was good. The alteration I made was to lay a pipe underground connecting all of the warehouses together. That way I could use the power from other warehouses' solar panels without having wires hanging over the driveway.
That could be a limiting factor for deliveries, if the wires got in the way.
Once the conversation with the excavation guy was over I got to work on another topic since VR would just have to be a future project.
I started looking into all of the small coastal towns in Yamato to see if I could find a place that would work for me.
I spent the rest of the day looking at Foolgle Maps and real estate sites. While also ordering food, since Layla couldn't be bothered to eat.
It was getting late and I had to drag Layla away from the simulator to go home. It was Halloween after all and if we didn't get back in time the roads would be filled with children. They would be running from door to door afraid that if they were any later the candy would run out.
When we got back home, mom already had the front porch light on and was waiting on the couch for trick or treaters to ring the door bell.'
Layla and I made dinner. We made tikka masala and it was amazing.
While eating we sat around and watched Halloween movies, which would be interrupted every few minutes.
When the last movie ended we cleaned everything up and turned the porch light off.
Both Layla and I got ready for bed.
I don't know if it was the fact that we didn't sleep well the previous night or if we had just gotten over the novelty of sleeping in the same bed. But both Layla and I fell asleep quickly.
…
The next morning when I woke up I found that Layla and I were entwined. We were laying together, with Layla's head on my shoulder and our legs twisted together.
While laying there, careful not to wake her, I was barely able to see the side of her face. She was sleeping peacefully, as though there was nothing to worry about.
I don't know what it was but I felt this feeling welling up in my chest. It was suffocating, warm, and brought moisture to my eyes.
I just had this desire to protect this peace, and to never lose it.
A few moments passed before Layla stirred awake.
She looked up at me sleepily, raised her hand and gently rubbed my cheek while saying, "Good morning."
I grabbed her hand and fought back a feeling, "Good morning. We should get up. Don't want to sleep in."
That seemed to wake her up, since she rolled out of bed and went straight to the bathroom without looking back.
I was able to enjoy the warm morning for a moment longer.