Mood Headphones Have Arrived

Remember when you were a kid and mood rings were all the rage? Jewelry that could read your mood? Cool! It was only when we got older that the realization hit that these so-called mood-reading devices simply measured body temperature. And sure, sometimes that’s a fair indicator of mood, but sometimes it’s just a sign that you’re cold or hot.

But now there’s a new mood-reading device. They’re called Mico headphones, and they choose music based on your current mood. And it’s not based on your body temperature. Mico headphones literally read your brainwaves to determine how you’re feeling.

An electroencephalograph sensor is attached to the headphones and touches your forehead, allowing the headphones to scan brainwaves and interpret your mood. Your “mood” is then communicated to the app within the headphones, which selects songs tagged with specific moods. Granted, it can’t read specific thoughts (that would be a little creepy), but it’s certainly a novel idea.

The headphones, which premiered at SXSW, can currently sense three different states of mind: stressed, sleepy, and focused. They are in the prototyping stage from the Tokyo-based Neurowear, which creates products that interact with biological signals like brainwaves and heartbeat.

Neurowear already has a product called “Necromimi,” which are wearable cat ears that rise and lie down based on how you are feeling. Similarly, they have developed “Shippo,” which is a tail that wags based on the same signals. “Tailly” is another tail put out by the collaborating company on “Shippo,” and is another tail that wags in response to heartbeat.

And now, headphones. For now, it’s a fun novelty that could prove to be truly innovative and interesting if it can become more sophisticated and intelligent, sensing more moods and connecting to mainstream music apps like Pandora and Spotify. For now, we’ll wait and hope.