Increasingly, competitors for the best headphones aren’t just focused on delivering high-quality audio. Every year it seems like new strings are added to its bow, and one big thing we’re seeing in headphones and earbuds at CES 2024 is “neural” technologies.
We also saw a couple more interesting headphones that push the boundaries of headphone technology, including TimeKettle’s new X1 multi-device two-way translator headphones and BREGGZ’s in-ear wireless computer headphones, which also have a translation app. With Samsung also looking to add real-time translation to its upcoming Galaxy Buds, it’s safe to say this is a technology we’ll be hearing a lot more about.
But the idea that headphones can read minds is, in our opinion, even more extravagant and therefore interesting. I rounded up four neural headphones I saw at CES 2024, all with very different designs.
1. Naqi Neural Headphones
Brain implants seem like something out of science fiction, but there are many companies working on developing this technology for the consumer market. In this case, it’s a company called Naqi Logix, co-founded by Dave Segal four years ago in Canada.
Segal tells me that the reason he invented wearable technology that could use electrical signals from the brain to control various devices, from smart home electronics to even flight simulators, was inspired by a desire to help a friend who had been left behind. quadriplegic.
“We built the only neural headphones on planet Earth that can serve as a safe, non-invasive alternative to brain implants. [They offer] the ability to have complete control over Windows and Mac computers, including typing, browsing, purchasing and playing contemporary video games,” explains Segal.
The idea behind the headphones, which use gyroscopic, muscle and brain wave sensors, is that the computer interface technology within them could be used in any of the best wireless headphones to give them this extra control. Given their ability to completely transform lives, it’s no surprise that the Naqi Neural Earbuds were awarded the CES Innovation Award for their accessibility and outdated technology.
2. NeurGear ZenBud
Instead of detecting nerves and translating those signals to control a device like previous Neural Earbuds, NeurGear’s ZenBud earbuds use ultrasonic sound waves to relax you. The technology works by stimulating the so-called vagus nerve, which is responsible for various bodily functions such as digestion, heart rate and breathing.
John Hacker, founder and CEO of NearGear, explained to me that stimulating a person’s vagus nerve triggers a rest response, which sends calming signals to the brain. This helps “strengthen your stress resistance and ability to relax. By using it for just five minutes over a week, you can see marked increases in stress resistance and relaxation.”
While ZenBud is still in its early stages (NeurGear was only founded in 2021), ultrasound technology like this could be implemented in better headphones in the future. But if you want to try it out first, as part of NeurGear’s Kickstarter campaign, you can pre-order it now for $1 and receive $100 off the still-unknown purchase price.
3. MyWaves Technologies Pebble
Billed as more of a headphone accessory, the myWaves Pebble device, which you can see in the image above, sits on your forehead to analyze your brain waves while you sleep and create personalized music tracks that it claims will help you sleep.
“We have science-backed technology that basically uses your delta waves, which are linked in your brain to sleep, to inform you of all your sleep activities, from deep sleep to rapid eye movement (REM). By selecting a part from your [delta waves while] sleep and turn it into music, we can produce music that makes your brain fall asleep faster, longer and better,” says Jean Francois Destexhe, CEO of myWaves Technologies.
However, Destexhe assures me that this device should not be used every night. Instead, the idea is that you use it for one night to get the recording. You then upload it to the myWaves platform, which then transforms your “brain waves into lullabies to help you fall asleep faster.”
You can currently sign up for early access to the technology, which was originally invented by Alain Destexhe and Luc Foubert, researchers at the Paris-Saclay Neuroscience Institute (NeuroPSI), and receive a 40% discount off the price when you do. become available.
4. Earable Neuroscience Frenz Brainband
Another company that focuses on finding a solution to falling and staying asleep is Earable Neuroscience, which has been operating since 2018 with the help of the University of Colorado and the University of Oxford. Like myWaves, it also tracks your brain signals to create a personalized music track that promises to help you sleep, but instead it has developed physical headphones that you can wear over your ears.
The headset itself uses the same technology as the best bone conduction headphones to play music, which Kimi Doan, the company’s chief growth officer, says is much less intrusive and more comfortable than placing an earbud directly in your ear while you try. sleep. She tells me that it “tracks real-time brain activity signals and neurological feedback. Based on that, the AI will automatically personalize and select the right digital therapies for your brain.”
Earable Neuroscience currently has 18 patents in various stages of completion and is the CES Innovation Awards winner for 2024. It also won the CES Wearables Technology Awards last year. If you want to be one of the first to try out your Frenz Brainband, you can pre-order it for $490 and it is scheduled to ship in February 2024.
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