Wearable Tech
daily routines of physiological health markers using wearables but also brain performance.
Focus and productivity solutions for today’s consumer Te vision for wearable neural interfacing is to provide consumers with new avenues to achieve personal goals in health, wellness, and productivity – and ultimately be an extension of the devices on offer within the market for ‘quantified self’ solutions. Tere is already a range of products available for consumers
looking to become early adopters of neurotech. Tere are over-ear headphones from Neurable that use EEG to measure focus and provide feedback on mental load in order to help users manage burnout. Te product is also marketed as a tool to minimise distractions and optimise productivity. Tis is a similar use-case to Neurosity, but who instead uses a ‘crown’ like form factor instead of a hearable. One novel use of the hearable form factor is to use brain data
as feedback to audio/music and personalise audio experiences in response to mental state. Tis is the approach by Enophone – who ultimately have a similar goal to their competitors to optimise mental wellness.
Human-machine interfacing tools for the next generation of digital interactions For some, though, the long-term value of a wearable BCI is in using it for human-machine interfacing. Today’s solutions predominantly depend on our hands (keyboards, mice, touchscreens, and so on). As well as being exclusionary from an accessibility perspective, there is
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also potential that they could become obsolete as the nature of our digital interactions evolves. In the future, consumers may depend less on smartphones and
laptops and more on smart glasses, virtual reality, and maybe even the meta-verse. Te development of extended reality eyewear is attributed to the demand for more immersive consumer experiences. For some, more immersion will also need novel interfaces. As
such, is it possible wearables could become an increasingly important alternative? Tis is already evidenced by Meta’s ongoing pitch to use a smart wristband for gesture control. But BCIs could play their part too, with pioneers such as Wisear and OpenBCI highlighting the device control capabilities on offer with their respective earphone and virtual reality headset products.
Market outlook Clearly, the fate of the brain computer interface market is intertwined with trends in the wearables market. Tis is particularly true in the medium term, whereby more advanced implantable solutions remain at a relatively low commercial readiness level. Overall, the ongoing interest in collecting personal data will
surely see a sub-sector for ‘quantified self-awareness’ hearables and headsets grow. However, it is also possible that the historic kingmakers of consumer wearable sensing (e.g., Apple and Samsung) continue to dictate the adoption trends in the mass market. Yet, with the smartphone ecosystem potentially under threat of disruption from extended reality glasses and headsets, the potential of wearables to streamline human-machine interfacing could become a more important driver for brain computer interface market growth in the long term.
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