Cat Ear Headband Reads Your Brain Wave And Wiggles
At the Anime Expo last weekend in Los Angeles, many people saw attendees wearing cute cat ear headbands. What is special about these headbands is that they wiggle according to the wearer's brain waves.
If you think this sounds quite surreal, watch this video made by its Japanese developer neurowear. Something that you would only see in Japanese animes is truly happening in real life!
The headband is known as "necomimi" which is literally the Japanese pronunciation of "cat's ear." It was released in Japan at the Gadget Show Live this April and just started its international distribution at anime conventions in the U.S. and Europe.
For anime fans who are cosplayers (short for people who do anime costume play), necomimi is a perfect prop to make them look even cuter.
Two cosplayers wearing necomimi at NICO NICO CHO-KAIGI First day, courtesy of neurowear.com
At the Anime Expo, necomimi's booth sold each one for $99.95. Next it will move to the Japan Expo in Paris from July 5 to 8. The price is set €150 each. It is also available online at Amazon Japan and Nico Shop.
It seems pretty natural that necomimi's next step is to collaborate with popular animes. On June 29, necomimi announced that it has collaborated with "The Wolf Children, Ame and Yuki," the latest anime movie by Mamoru Hosoda who produced other famous anime movies such as "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" and "Summer Wars." According to necomimi's Facebook page, the company "created special necomimi based on the ears of Ame and Yuki, the two wolf children appearing in the movie." However, this is a super rare collab with only six sets available in the world" and four of them will be given away as prize of 'The Wolf Children Summer Fair' organized by Kodokawa Shoten, a well-known Japanese publishing company.
But don't be too disappointed because, seeing the popularity of necomimi at the anime conventions outside Japan, fans overseas can surely expect more exciting news to come.
Necomimi is the first project in neurowear's long-term plan to utilize "brain waves and other biosensor with 'Augumented Human Body,'" according to its Facebook page. The company says it will continue developing other fashion items using this concept.
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Xiaomeng Li earned her Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, with Honors in Mass Communication and Fine Arts at Wilson College, Chambersburg, PA. She is now a Master of Arts candidate for New Arts Journalism program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). Born in Wuhan, China, Li came to the United States in 2007. Her passion lies in popular culture, cross-cultural communication, and the relationship between the Chinese government, mass media and the civil society. Li is also an aspiring photographer who likes portraiture and the traditional darkroom experience.