Imagine walking into your living room after a stressful day at work, to find the lights automatically dim themselves to suit your mood. It might sounds like the stuff of science fiction, but this is already possible, thanks to a gadget called Muse. The device, which went on sale in the UK this week (ending Sat), is designed to track people’s brain waves, in the same way that fitness trackers count the number of steps a person has taken, or monitor their heart rate. Muse the gadget monitors users brain waves to adjust the lighting in every room they walk into to suit their mood . The plastic headband is designed to track brain movements in the same way as fitness trackers count steps . Users wear a plastic headband across their forehead, with sensors at the front and above the ears, to track their brain activity. This information is then beamed via Bluetooth to the user’s mobile phone or computer, where it is ‘translated’ into an image of a summer’s day in the country. People who have lots on their mind will see clouds rolling across the screen, whilst those who manage to empty their thoughts will be met by a clear blue sky. The product, developed by Ariel Garten, a Canadian neuroscientist and former fashion designer, launched in North America last year, and is designed to help people relax. ‘Muse is a brain fitness tool that helps you do more with your mind,’ the company says. ‘By seeing your brain’s performance in real time as well as over time, you can enhance the mental skills you already have and do more with your mind than you ever thought possible. ‘You are able to see your data, you can track it and see how your brain becomes calmer over time.’ According to Mrs Garten, Muse is prescribed by doctors in the US and Canada to treat people suffering from stress, anxiety or insomnia. Researchers are also investigating whether the £239.90 gadget can be used to reduce the recovery time for surgery patients, as well as to treat epilepsy and Attention Deficit Disorder. However, the device can be used for some more flamboyant tricks as well. Researchers are also investigating whether the £239.90 gadget can be used to reduce the recovery time for surgery patients . Mrs Garten told a conference in Barcelona that Muse could be rigged up to in animate objects, so that users could control them with their minds. In one instance, it was used to make a chair levitate. In another, partygoers were able to don the plastic headband and pour themselves a beer from a keg. It can also be linked to lighting and heating systems, in order to change the feel of a room depending on the user’s mood. The devices are likely to be embraced by serious technology fans, who are also willing to wear gadgets like Google’s internet-enabled glasses on their face. However, it may take a while for the gadgets to hit the mainstream. Mrs Garten said she had used her background as a fashion designer to ensure the device was as elegant as possible. ‘We approached this as a design problem. How do you make something slick and that fits into people’s lives,’ she said.
Muse is designed to track people's brain waves and monitor stress levels . Users wear a plastic headband whose sensors follow brain movements . Bluetooth signals then tell lights in the room to adjust to user's mood .