Samsung developing new wearable that can read your brain

Samsung is working on an around-the-ear electroencephalogram (EEG) prototype device. In recent years, the company has failed to keep up with competitors like Apple, which offers current generation earbuds with biometric tracking; the AirPods Pro 3 can monitor your heart rate.

The Samsung Ear-EEG has been developed in partnership with the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Hanyang University in Korea. It uses a brain-computer interface to transmit the wearer's brain activity to the gadget, and is designed for users to wear in settings other than a laboratory. 

Samsung lists two applications for the Ear-EEG. The first is drowsiness detection, monitoring the wearer's drop in ability to focus over a period of time. The company suggests that this data could be used to study learning behaviours and to improve education. The second proposed scenario is to inform decisions related to marketing or entertainment. According to Samsung, when combined with artificial intelligence, the wearable can detect whether or not a person is enjoying video content with 92.86% accuracy.

Samsung notes that its Ear-EEG research has been featured in the peer-reviewed IEEE Sensors Journal. It is unclear whether or when Samsung could release a version of Ear-EEG. Any consumer facing application of this technology could compete with existing devices like the Muse S Athena headband (curr. $474.99 at Amazon Marketplace).