It is a very rare occasion that the biometrics of the brain intersect with consumer technology, as these technologies are very specific in application. Most devices that measure the metrics of grey matter that don’t have a home in the hospital scanning environment are designed for military use. A device from Black Box Biometrics, for instance, is designed to inform commanding officers and medics with a soldier has sustained a traumatic brain injury.
Today, Personal Neuro Devices Inc. (PND), a company focussed on brain to technology interface solutions, announced that it has developed a neuro-application that is fully compatible with Google Glass. The end result is projected to be a powerful neuro-imaging tool that also keeps you connected to the networks you live in.
The Google wearable, which is still in its testing phases, already incorporates speech recognition software for user interfacing and positional capabilities, two aspects with widely explored mobile ID application potential. What PND is proposing with its new peripheral is manyfold, and in some cases as reminiscent of science fiction as the phrase “brain biometrics.”
The most obvious application of a connected neuro device is in passive monitoring of vital biometrics. Data can be monitored in the background for long periods of time, providing physicians with the patient information to better understand a patient’s brain chemistry disorders such as depression. In a similar manner, PND proposed a stress triggered app that can notify a wearer that it is time to take a break, or in a slightly scarier world for the end user: provide targeted content based on your mood.
“Engaging with technology that can improve our lives should be seamless, effortless and worry-free,” explains Tony Gaitatzis, PND’s chief technology officer. “This means devices should be passive and responsive, without being intrusive or distracting, so that all you notice are the benefits. The PND wearable environment will allow you to improve your brain, your ability to think and your ability to handle stress, without having to disengage from what you are doing to look at a phone or a tablet.”
“Users of wearable technology are looking for help to solve problems and make decisions,” he continues. “The ability of wearable tech to tap into big data in the cloud is powerful, but what comes back to the user must be clear and simple enough to be useful, rather than overwhelming. The strength of the PND wearable environment, as it must be with any wearable technology, will reside with the ease of use and utility of its cloud-based applications.”
Wearable tech is already set to help improve the mobile identity landscape in a number of ways. With wearables that can passively monitor a user’s brain biometrics, that number increases massively. With PND’s new device, we are coming to a place where ideas of identity, technology and biology are merging. It will be interesting to see these ideas in a practical use setting.
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