NeuroSky's David Westendorf explains the company's achievements in bringing technological advances to the masses
- NeuroSky's MindSet
- MindSet_WhiteEnviron.jpg (51.95 KiB) Viewed 1203 times
San Jose, CA, Aug 11, 2010 - In 2007, U.S. Universities spent more than $48.8 billion dollars on research and earned only $2 billion back in licensing of previous patents developed from their work. While this research is ostensibly available for license, it is somehow not translating into broad commercial use. Leading brain-computer interface technology company, NeuroSky has made it their mission to utilize university neuroscience research and create products to benefit the general public.
At this year's BCI Meeting in Asilomar, California, NeuroSky's Vice President of Business Development and Product Marketing, David Westendorf, presented NeuroSky's commercialization model to a gathering of the top 400 researchers in the BCI industry.
Grounded in over 60 years of medical research, NeuroSky's technology has taken proven medical EEG (electroencephalograph) technology, and evolved it for application to the mass market in games and toys. Mattel's MindFlex and Star Wars Force Trainer by Uncle Milton use NeuroSky ThinkGear EEG technology to read the intensity of the wearer's brainwaves via sensors positioned on the forehead. NeuroSky's ThinkGear chip is not limited to games, though. Their BCI technology is now being incorporated into products as various as automotive, healthcare, education industries, and more.
At the BCI Meeting, Mr. Westendorf explained how the current consumer markets for BCI technology are rapidly growing and strong, with the brain fitness market expected to grow from $265 million in 2008, to an astounding $5 billion in 2015, and the neuro-stimulation, or drug-free alternatives market, growing from $1.3 billion in 2009 to $2.7 billion in 2015. If the market is so open to these types of products, why then is there this disconnect between the amount of research done and the number of products available to the masses?
The main problem, as Mr. Westendorf made clear, is that consumer manufacturers don't know BCI, and BCI experts do not know consumer electronics. And that's where NeuroSky comes in. Under the guidance of CEO Stanley Yang, their MindSet has effectively bridged the gap between academics and consumers, by offering them an incredibly reliable and effective EEG machine for 1/100th of the cost of a full medical EEG.
"Through research and commercialization partnerships with Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, Trinity College, University of Wollongong, University of Washington and many others, NeuroSky is helping unlock decades of brainwave research for mass market applications," said Stanley Yang, NeuroSky CEO. "We look forward to product announcements with these and more partners in the coming years."
The cost of a typical medical EEG systems, which must be used with gel and assistance from a clinician, can be above $40,000 per unit and takes 15-30 minutes to calibrate, and produces a high degree of accuracy. NeuroSky's Mindset has a calibration time of only 4-seconds, an accuracy rate of 90%-96%, yet only costs $199. The fact that NeuroSky has been able to offer nearly the full value of a real EEG machine for mass-market consumption is one of the factors that have contributed to the company becoming one of the world's largest EEG manufacturers.
About NeuroSky
NeuroSky, Inc. is the leader in Brain-Computer Interface technologies for consumer product application. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in San Jose, CA, NeuroSky works with industry partners, developers, and with academic and research institutions, to provide innovative products and solutions across a wide range of areas.
Technological innovations include significant advancements in noise reduction, dry-sensor development (rather than requiring a conductive gel), substantial cost-engineering (reducing the price), and enabling the wearer to use it outside of a lab (without the assistance of a doctor). With such universal innovation, NeuroSky's games and other applications are sure to have an impact in a variety of arenas in the coming years.
For more information about NeuroSky, please go to http://www.neurosky.com