Necomimi cat ears' creators branch out into brain-controlled headphones (video)

Necomimi cat ears' creators branch out into brain-controlled headphones (video) data = {blogUrl: "www.engadget.com",v: 287};when = {jquery: lab.scriptBs("jquery"),plugins: lab.scriptBs("plugins"),eng: lab.scriptBs("eng")}; var s265prop9 = ('20496256' !== '') ? 'bsd:20496256' : ''; var postID = '20496256'; var modalMNo = '93319229', modalVideoMNo = '93320648', modalGalleryMNo = '93304207'; when.eng("eng.omni.init", {pfxID:"weg",pageName:document.title,server:"acp-ld39.websys.aol.com",channel:"us.engadget", s_account: "aolwbengadget,aolsvc", short_url: "",pageType:"",linkInternalFilters:"javascript:,",prop1:"article",prop2:"wearables",prop9:s265prop9,prop12:document.location,prop17:"",prop18:"",prop19:"",prop20:"",mmxgo: true }); adSendTerms('1')adSetMOAT('1');adSetAdURL('/_uac/adpagem.html');lab._script("http://o.aolcdn.com/os/ads/adhesion/js/adhads-min.js").wait(function(){var floatingAd = new AdhesiveAd("10000057",{hideOnSwipe:true});}); onBreak({980: function () { adSetType("F");htmlAdWH("93319229", "LB", "LB"); adSetType("");}}); EngadgetMenu ReviewsEventsPodcasts Engadget Show Buyers Guides Features SagasVideosGalleriesStoreTopicsHD Mobile Alt Announcements Cameras Cellphones Desktops Displays Gaming GPS Handhelds Home Entertainment Household Internet Laptops Meta Misc Networking Peripherals Podcasts Robots Portable Audio/Video Science Software Storage Tablets Transportation Wearables Wireless Acer Amazon AMD Apple ASUS AT&T Blackberry Canon Dell Facebook Google HP HTC Intel Lenovo LG Microsoft Nikon Nintendo Nokia NVIDIA Samsung Sony Sprint T-Mobile Verizon About UsSubscribeLike Engadget@engadgettip uswhen.eng("eng.nav.init")when.eng("eng.tips.init") Necomimi cat ears' creators branch out into brain-controlled headphones (video) Hands-onByBrian HeaterpostedMar 10th, 2013 at 1:22 PM 0

While we've always thought that brain-controlled cat ears are a perfectly viable business model, it's usually in a company's best interest to diversify, in case, you know, the bottom ever drops out of the furry accessory market. Neurowear, the company behind the Necomimi, which provided some of the more memorable moments at this year's CES, showed off its latest project, the Mico, which continues the company's core competency of letting people do stuff with mind waves. In this case, it's music control. A big white pair of headphones are connected to a sensor that rests on your forehead and a dangling clip for your earlobe (a la the Necomimi).

The cans connect to your smartphone via Bluetooth, using your current mood to select a song from the company's app, which currently contains about 100 tracks. According to the company, the songs have been "neuro-tagged," based on its testing, to ensure that they match up to perceived mood. If your mood changes, just give the phone a shake and it will clean the musical slate Etch-a-Sketch-style.Neurowear Mico brain wave-sensing headphones hands-onSee all photoswhen.eng("eng.galleries.init")

We tried the headphones on (gently -- there are only two sets in the world right now, according to the company). We can't really say how well they worked -- songs were chosen after it determined that our mood was "focused," but it's hard to say if the whole thing is just kind of a crapshoot. The headphones are still in the early prototype stage -- there's a big battery pack and a 3D-printed module for controlling the red LEDs on the side of the ears. Asked if we might ever see such a thing on the market, Mico's inventor told us they were coming in "the near future," whatever that might mean.

The company's also mentioned the possibility of partnerships with apps like Spotify, to let users choose from a much larger catalog than the 100 currently available in its proprietary offering.

Zach Honig contributed to this report.

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Tags: brainwave, hands-on, headphone, headphones, mico, Neurowear, sxsw, sxsw2013, video

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