Wired UK have documented how another barrier in the fashion revolution has come crashing down. A Japanese company called Neurowear have created pink brainwave-controlled cat ears for humans.
The company claim that they stand up when you concentrate and lay flat when you relax.
However, as the ears almost certainly pick up on different EEG frequencies which aren’t directly tied to mental states it probably means that they move around largely of their own free will while you have a vague sense of controlling them.
But never mind, they’re an important fashion advance and that’s all that matters.
The cat ear product, called “necomimi” is a novelty hair band that is worn in the normal way but features sensors that pick up on brain signals and convert them into visible actions — in this case by wiggling the cat ears.
The ears twitch through a range of different positions, which correspond to different brain activity. So when you concentrate, the ears point upwards and when you relax the ears flop down and forwards. The result is a kick-ass pair of ears that will make everyone at the furry convention / fancy dress party jealous.
The video is priceless by the way.
Link to Wired UK on brainwave cat ears for humans (via @AutoDespair).
Mind Hacks 
I can imagine how those ears can help in terms of health & well-being. Especially deaf people.
Though it does make me wonder about why Japan is obsessed with cat ears. I do think that cats are complex creatures and that makes them interesting to others.
It will be interesting to see the interactions between people wearing those ears and real cats.
Wait, how would a pair of EEG-sensitive headbands help with health and wellness, or alleviate deafness? They’re not anything like a cochlear implant; they’re just a novelty item that employs a strange level of technology.
Real cats would probably not react in an interesting way. Like most animals they communicate largely with body language, which tends to be much more nuanced than “ears stand up, ears flatten down.”
The control method is interesting, though. Brain-to-computer interface is an exciting field for me, and as clumsy and pointless as this is it’s at least nice to see people experimenting with it. Not as cool as the Smarthand, though.
Ahh, I meant to say it helps with those who aren’t able to communicate effectively or normally. (i.e. mentally ill, verbally-challenged)
Being verbally challenged in
similar circumstances I could use
a set of male cat ears to signal
by ear semaphore my preverbal willingness to commensurate >:-)
Hah, yes. That might work.
I’ll take a pair in black, please.
Ryuichi
I’ll have a Russian pair but they must understand Ukrainian.
Seriously, what is it with Japanese fashion/technology? I think it is awesome that this was developed, just as a feat of technology. But I cannot imagine a market for it anywhere else in the world.
I do a lot of teaching for police. I think I might get the class to wear these so I can tell if they are concentrating.