- Grimes said he got a headset called “The Crown” that allowed him to move a computer mouse with his head.
- Neurocity CEO AJ Keller says the company created a custom white version for the singer.
- Neurosity’s device is designed to help people focus, but some developers use it as a BCI.
Grimes got a new brain gadget for his 35th birthday.
“Getting a non-invasive brain-computer interface for my birthday (!!!!?),” she tweeted Friday.
— (@Grimezsz) March 17, 2023
Neurosity CEO AJ Keller has confirmed that a singer named Claire Boucher has ordered one of the company’s headsets, known as the Crown, in a custom white color.
Grimes’ birthday ‘crown’ measures brain activity and is designed to help people focus
Neurosity’s headset uses electroencephalography (EEG) technology to measure brain activity by placing tiny metal electrodes on a person’s scalp. When the electrodes detect a drop in electrical activity in the brain, the crown will play music, sounds, or pulse vibrations, hoping those actions will help the user focus.
But some developers seem to have taken Neurosity’s tech one step further, turning Crown into a more traditional brain-computer interface, allowing users to control the computer using only their heads.
One of the gadget’s owners claimed to have used it to drive a Tesla and do mental math to drive an electric car for short distances.
—Arib 🇺🇸🇰 (@aribk24) February 2, 2023
And Grimes seems to use a crown instead of a computer mouse. In a now-deleted tweet, the singer said the Neurosity device allowed her to use her mind to move her cursor.
Learning how to use a BCI is hard — there’s no ‘Fitbit’ for skulls yet
It’s not clear if reverse mind control as described by Grimes and others is actually possible with Neurosity’s headset, or how well it would work if it is. BCI devices typically have a steep learning curve, and users may spend months or years learning how to operate them.
In a since-deleted tweet, the singer also described Neurocity as younger and more low-tech than Neurolink — Elon Musk’s startup implants brain chips in humans, said billionaire I am aiming for “It fits your skull.”
Grimes, who dated Musk for several years and has two children with the billionaire, said in the past She eventually plans to implant one of Neuralink’s devices into her own brain. The startup’s application for human trials in the United States was rejected by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last year, according to the company. Reuters.
There are many other A more successful BCI device It is embedded in the heads of people all over the world and uses only their minds to control their computers.
Philip O’Keefe, who has ALS, uses an implant in his brain to control his computer cursor.
Paul Burston, University of Melbourne
Keller told Insider that Grimes tested Crown at the company’s San Francisco lab earlier this month.
“Just did a bci test @neurosity And it seemed like things were ‘booming’ when I was talking and ‘a lot’ instead of ‘just thinking,'” Grimes said. tweeted on wednesday.
Keller said his company does not aim to compete with Neuralink. He sees them as completely different types of companies.
“It’s like the difference between a microscope and a telescope,” said Keller. “Both do imaging, but both do very different types of imaging.”
Musk says Neuralink aims to combat neurological diseases like Parkinson’s disease and ultimately facilitate telepathic messaging, but the billionaire’s human trial timeline has repeatedly changed. increase. Meanwhile, Neurosity’s device is already on the market.
Keller said Neurosity is already using its devices to make people more productive. Ultimately, the company aims to offer Crown as an alternative to stimulants such as Adderall and caffeine, Keller said.
company introduced The first device that can read brain waves in 2020. Keller said the company has been updating the device for the past few years, shipping hundreds of crowns. We have 600 active users.crown current cost Around $1,000 and also available as a $99 monthly subscription.
