Neurotech in 2023 - Neural App Foundations

Brain-computer interfaces for consumers are more or less in the same place that smartphones were in the pre-iPhone and iTunes days when PDA meant “personal data assistant” and the 苹果 Newton was getting ready to bomb. The iPhone worked because it provided access to the Internet and intuitive touch interaction. The App Store worked because there were enough iPhones in the market to support it. iTunes provided an easy way to manage digital media and songs, an extension of users’ personalities and it worked because the iPhone worked with it.

Trend Prediction Formula

When I think of the future I use a simple formula:

X enables Y

If Y is possible then Z will happen

Let’s fill in the variables (X, Y, Z) for the neurotechnology industry in 2023 and beyond.

The Every-day BCI

I give credit to Neurable for coining the term (it’s where I saw it first). The concept of an “Every-day BCI” is that brain-computer interfaces can be integrated into consumer products and become a way to enhance your life by brining a new layer of personalization to connected products and services. Every-day neural interfaces will exist in a connected world rich in mobile apps, cross-platform compatibility and API’s that make it relatively straightforward to build new and engaging experiences if brain activity is easily packaged in an API/SDK interface for developers to build with. Hence, the need will exist for Neural App stores to exist.

Neural App Store Foundations

Neural App Stores will need to start out in a similar way to early smartphone and mobile apps. There are many initiatives in the neurotech industry around inter-operability, data and privacy standards that mimic initiatives for Augmented Reality 10-15 years ago. These topics become valuable when there is a market to support them.

If a company has a few thousand devices and they can all run Neural Apps that improve your music experience, focus, sleep, etc. it will provide choice and value to consumers. However, the revenue from app sales will not be nearly enough to entice developers to jump on-board to create amazing new experiences because there’s simply not enough users.

Neuro Earbuds

In the Neurotech industry we first need solid use cases and applications providing value to users and customers. We need BCI designs that integrate seamlessly into the lifestyles of general consumers and are not just put on in laboratories and clinics. We have some first good entrants from companies like Emotive and Muse with specific applications in sleep, focus, and meditation. However, these designs won’t translate to general consumer lifestyles with the possible exception of the Emotive MN8 Earbuds, which are currently not available except to B2B customers. We need BCI designs with more massive scalability and backing from major electronics companies. We saw the first entrant in this direction from LG at CES 2023.

LG has provided the best signal in the market towards an every-day BCI with their release of the LG Breeze Sleep Buds, developed by SleepWave. The Breeze represent the first consumer BCI product since the Jedi Mind Trainer (Star Wars Force Trainer) that has the potential for wider adoption in the consumer market (</sarcasm>). The Breeze is a True Wireless Stereo (TWS) earbud designed for sleep tracking and interventions through audio and music to enhance the sleep journey. With EEG to monitor brain state, the Breeze should be able to expand beyond what the Kokoon Technology Nightbuds and Bose Corporation Sleepbuds provide to consumers. If the Breeze can help enhance the “sleep journey” it then opens up the potential for different use-cases, and a Neural App store would be the way to make this scale.

If successful with sleep, can the LG Breeze earbuds expand to other applications like focus, meditation, education, etc.? Will other companies like 索尼 , 微软 , OPPO , etc. bring neurotechnology into their hearables product lines? First however, the Breeze have to come to market. I believe the plan is to first release the Breeze in South Korea and then bring them to the N. American market.

Neurotech Industry Movements

Once neural earbuds are in the market for specific use-cases there's be a natural drive to expand through APIs to new applications. Can neuromarkers be deployed on neural (neuro) earbud systems from a common Neural App store? Companies like Neurosity have already brought the beginnings of it to market with their Spotify focus app based on their Crown BCI and stream brain data to the Tesla dashboard while Neurable is pushing the design of Every-Day BCI with their commercialization activities. Wisear may be embedded on the earbuds to empower hands free user interactions. At IDUN Technologies I’m working hard with the team everyday on bringing neurotechnology to earbuds with our Guardian Neural Earbuds and Neuro-computing platform.

I see an exciting future developing for mobile BCI?and consumer neurotechnology. Organizations like IEEE are currently developing standards for BMI/BCI. Countries are developing neuroethics legislation and protocols for neural data security are being discussed. Neural rights are human rights.

Where will the next inflection point come from? How close are we to downloading Neural Apps to our earbuds?

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