News of the Offbeat: Wearable Cat Ears Controlled, Wiggled by Brain (JAPAN)

Edited on Tue May-10-11 06:11 PM by Asahina Kimi

Ever wish you had cat ears? Thanks to a new quirky device out of Japan, now you can. A new communication tool called "necommi" - from the company neurowear - uses brain waves from emotions to control and wiggle wearable cat ears. Just as a cat's ears are likely to drop down when it's relaxed, the device reads the emotional state of humans and acts it out through the cat ears. When wearing the ears and feeling relaxed, your own set of cat ears would drop down too. Meanwhile, ears jump up as you concentrate.

Although this may seem absurd, the device could potentially be used to help mentally disabled or verbally challenged people, especially children, show their feelings. This technology could also be used in other scenarios, such as monitoring brain signals for workers involved in demanding tasks. JapanTrends.com noted that this type of technology aimed at health and well-being is a particularly growing market in Japan.