If there’s one emerging trend in future wearables, it’s that our bodies aren’t enough.
It’s our brains that wearable makers are really interested in, which is why Silicon Valley wearable start up Thync has just raised $13m in venture capital for its mind-altering device.
Essential reading: Can a wearable read your mind?
The company says that its wearable can alter your thoughts, using a process called “neurosignalling”, to make what it calls, "a safe, effective, aesthetically designed lifestyle device that anyone can use".
The idea is the consumer electronics answer to the energy drink, of which sales have reached record levels across the world. Instead of reaching for a Red Bull, the idea is that you strap on Thync to give yourself a neurological jolt.
Co-founder Dr. Jamie Tyler told The Wall Street Journal:
"The Thync team is working hard on introducing neuroscience to 21st century engineering.
"For the first time, we are able to target and optimise neural pathways and brain circuits for personal benefit. Thync technology converges on many of these same pathways to achieve positive effects."
Details are certainly thin on the ground, but Thync isn’t alone in claiming it can access the deepest workings of your grey matter. At Wareable we’ve closely followed other emotion sensing wearables, including the XO Band and a fashion project from The Unseen.
However, this is the first wearable we’ve seen that professes to be able to change your thoughts, not just detect them. Scary? Just a little…
How we test
James is the co-founder of Wareable, and he has been a technology journalist for 15 years.
He started his career at Future Publishing, James became the features editor of T3 Magazine and T3.com and was a regular contributor to TechRadar – before leaving Future Publishing to found Wareable in 2014.
James has been at the helm of Wareable since 2014 and has become one of the leading experts in wearable technologies globally. He has reviewed, tested, and covered pretty much every wearable on the market, and is passionate about the evolving industry, and wearables helping people achieve healthier and happier lives.