Good Times knows when you’re concentrating, sets your phone to ‘do not disturb’

Good Times

There’s a reason we cover technology instead of create it. When we see a pair of Necomimi ears we see a opportunity to embarrass a poor intern. (Thanks for being a good sport Daniel!) Ruggero Scorcioni, on the other hand, sees a way to automatically control AT&T’s Call Management system. At the company’s mobile hackathon in January, he was presented with a pair of the brainwave-tracking novelties and immediately cracked it open to gain access to its precious torrents of data. The project he whipped up, Good Times, feeds readings from the cat-eared electrode to an Arduino, which then interacts with the Call Management and M2M APIs. When a significant amount of brain activity is detected, indicating that you’re concentrating on something, calls are rerouted. Instead of distracting you from the task at hand, would-be interlopers simply receive a message that “this is not a good time to call please try again later.”

The version Scorcioni brought to AT&T’s Foundry showcase this morning, in New York City, was a little more sophisticated. The Arduino was gone and the motorized ears were replaced with a MindWave from NeuroSky. The EEG monitor communicated directly with a computer running an application that triggered the do not disturb setting through the API. For now there’s a static threshold for activity, which led to quite frequent fluctuation in availability. Future versions should be trainable — making it possible for the app to recognize what serious concentration looks like for different people. For now it’s just a proof of concept. For one, brain wave monitors are hardly unintrusive, but it’s a glimpse at what’s possible with powerful APIs and a little creativity. Check out the gallery below.

Filed under: ,

Comments

CES 2013: Crapgadget roundup

CES 2013 Crapgadget roundup

For every big name present at CES, there are literally hundreds of smaller companies littered throughout the show’s many halls and venues. We make it our mission to walk every aisle in search of hidden gems. However, that treasure hunt sometimes leads us to the most useless of products, otherwise known as Crapgadgets. While there was plenty of shameless branding in Vegas this year, we didn’t find nearly as many pointless novelties as we expected. Nevertheless, it just made the ones we did spot all the more special, so head past the break to see what took top honors as this year’s “worst in show.”

Continue reading CES 2013: Crapgadget roundup

Filed under:

Comments

Source: Necomimi, WheeMe, CTA Digital

Crapgadget CES, round two: Necomimi brainwave cat ears (video)

Crapgadget CES, round two Necomimi brainwave cat ears video

Mee ow…

Daniel Orren contributed his brain and dignity for this report.

Continue reading Crapgadget CES, round two: Necomimi brainwave cat ears (video)

Comments

Necomimi Cat Ears Get Interchangeable Accessories

We have laughed more than a few times at the oddball product from NeuroSky called the Necomimi brainwave cat ears. The ears are designed to move back and forth depending on your mood based on reading your brain waves. Out of the box, the head-worn system comes with a large pair of white ears.

If you like the idea of wearing these odd cat ears, you might appreciate having some different ear styles to wear. NeuroSky is now showing off accessories to go along with the brainwave cat ears. Accessories include four different ear tips that can replace the default snowy white units.

ears

The accessories include minky brown ears, leopard ears, obsidian black ears, and devil’s horns that would have been perfect for Halloween. There’s always next year, I suppose. Each accessory ear pack costs $19.95 (USD) over at the Necomimi shop.

Necomimi Brainwave Cat Ears Review: Why You Need Psychic Cyborg Animal Ears [Lightning Review]

What could possibly be cuter than a pair of wearable, fuzzy animatronic car ears? A pair of wearable, fuzzy animatronic cat ears that can read your mind. Be the belle of the yarn ball and the envy of crazy old cat ladies everywhere. More »

Necomimi finally arrives in the US

Have you heard of the company NeuroSky before? Well, this is the company behind some mind controlled devices in recent memory, and even more recently, Necomimi is one of NeuroSky’s latest products which was introduced in Japan. Basically, this will target cosplayers who want to wear one pair of those cute looking kitten ears, but what makes the Necomimi special is this – it is a mind controlled toy that ought to be a hit among those who love all things about cosplaying.

First launched on an official basis at Comic-Con in San Diego, the Necomimi is actually a headband which will feature brainwave cat ears that will move according to the user’s moods. It will rely on NeuroSky’s ThinkGear technology, enabling Necomimi to provide folks a chance to express their moods in real time, and through fake cat ears to boot. Well, it would have been nice to see a mentally controlled tail appendage to go along with the pair of ears, but I guess that particular idea will just have to be reserved for sometime down the road.

The Necomimi thought controlled cat ears is not too expensive either to own, considering they retail for just $99.95 a pair via select authorized resellers, retail partners and on www.necomimi.com. First becoming popular within the anime and costume circles in Japan due to a viral Youtube video by Neurowear, audiences have for the longest time being waiting for the US launch.

The unveiling of the Necomimi cat ears took place at Comic-Con booth #305, and fans who have been following the Necomimi product will be able to be one of the first in line to demonstrate and purchase the product. There are three emotional states that the Necomimi cat ears are able to create, resulting in cat-like reactive movements which will depict whether you are relaxed or interested at a particular point during the conversation.

Should something interesting catch your attention during the conversation, the ears will shoot straight up. When you are relaxed, the ears will droop, and when both are highly focused and highly relaxed, or “in the zone”, the ears will start to wiggle back and forth.

Press Release

[ Necomimi finally arrives in the US copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]