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Recording electrical activity of the brain is not a new idea. Electroencephalography (EEG) for human has been around for almost 100 years. Electrodes are placed on the scalp with a conductive gel or paste to monitor and record electric signals. However, this technology is typically used for medicine and scientific research and appears distant from most people. Entertech, a startup in Hangzhou China, uses EEG and related technologies for various commercial applications. With a headset detecting the level of concentrated attention, Entertech held racing contests where the cars’ speed was controlled by the level of attention. The contests attracted many children and parents. Those who had higher level of concentration won the contests. The company has also developed courses of attention training for children where the level of attention and heart rate are measured in real time by a device called Flowtime. Another application of brainwave technologies is sleep monitoring and sleep aids, because the sleep stages can be defined by brainwaves. For example, Entertech developed Luuna, a sleep-aiding mask that recommends or composes music that facilitates sleep based on brainwave data. Further uses may be possible by monitoring emotion and fatigue.
Summary
Purpose
To commercialize the technologies detecting brainwave and attention
Idea
Design games where the attention level is the input
Further Possibilities
1. Build a database of brainwave data for scientific purposes
2. Object manipulation with brainwave
3. Use the Internet to monitor attention and sleep remotely
4. Develop cognitive aid based on brainwave
5. Rank music for every person based on neural signals
Questions
1. How might we communicate through non-invasive devices?
2. What are all the things we can detect with the help of non-invasive headsets?
3. How might we make people happier through non-invasive headsets?
