????艾莉爾?加藤從一開始就明白，她想打造的是一款能讓人更好地思考的產(chǎn)品。

????加藤是加拿大年輕的科技公司Interaxon的首席執(zhí)行官，要設法在可穿戴設備中運用大腦控制的接口技術——也就是一種科幻小說般的技術，它能通過腦電波控制電子設備。據(jù)未來咨詢公司（Futuresource Consulting）稱，在谷歌眼鏡（Google's Glass）和耐克能量腕帶（Nike's FuelBand）的帶領下，所謂的可穿戴設備市場預計將從現(xiàn)在的年收入80億美元增長到2017年的200億美元。所以用腦電波控制這些設備似乎是明擺著的事兒。

????不過加藤想打造的是更有意義的產(chǎn)品——也就是人們能日常使用的產(chǎn)品，而不是什么神器，也不是什么新奇玩意兒。所以她保持觀望，寧可等這個市場發(fā)展起來。這家公司全新推出的腦電波控制頭帶“繆斯”（Muse）售價299美元，將于今年五月開始出貨。這款產(chǎn)品今年在消費電子展（Consumer Electronics Show）上首次亮相就大放異彩。而據(jù)加藤稱，消費者和企業(yè)員工援助計劃對它的預定十分火爆。這么看來，這家公司放緩進入硬件市場的策略似乎很奏效。

????2009年，加藤和她的兩位聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人特雷弗?科爾曼和克里斯?阿莫尼在多倫多創(chuàng)辦了這家公司。創(chuàng)立后的頭三年間，他們一直用基于腦電圖描記器（electroencepholagraphy，簡稱EEG）的技術創(chuàng)造各種體驗。無論是當一個人變得更放松時讓他坐的椅子浮到空中，還是讓參加2010年冬季奧運會的幾千名觀眾有機會改變多倫多的加拿大國家電視塔（CN Tower）、加拿大國會大廈和尼亞加拉大瀑布（Niagara Falls）的燈光，這家公司都已經(jīng)向用戶表明，他們的大腦可以影響世界。

????當時通過貼牌安裝公司每年大概能掙100萬美元。不過更重要的是，這些努力讓幾位創(chuàng)始人能深入了解人們與技術開展互動的方式，從而有助于Interaxon更好地理解如何才能將EEG技術用于消費產(chǎn)品。

????加藤回顧了一次有人到他們實驗室來做一個用戶測試的情景。她說：“那是我們第一次真正測試那個算法，它能顯示人什么時候是專心致志的，什么時候是緊張的。當時，受試者一分心，屏幕上就會發(fā)出嗶嗶一響。每次我看見這個，心就會噗通一跳?！彼膱F隊認識到，必須為人們提供的是學會控制自己的方法。

????過去兩年來，這個團隊基本上停掉了演示和咨詢業(yè)務，專心研發(fā)“繆斯”。這是一臺個人EEG設備，能將讀數(shù)發(fā)送到手機或平板電腦上。加藤說：“它主要是教你如何讓心靈平靜下來。心態(tài)平和了，就能做更多事情。”

????“繆斯”的外形和傳統(tǒng)頭帶很像，但它像眼鏡一樣擱在耳后并就在眉毛上方橫跨面部。它有七個用來收集數(shù)據(jù)的傳感器。加藤稱，內(nèi)置的應用有各種活動，它們能讓人們的身心在上床休息前平靜下來。很快它可能還能幫你發(fā)現(xiàn)自己在干活時分心的情況。

????Ariel Garten knew from the start she wanted to make a product that makes people think.

????The chief executive of the young Canadian company Interaxon, Garten sought to use brain-controlled interface technology -- a science fiction-like development that allows a device to be controlled by the brain's electrical activity -- in a wearable device. With Google's Glass and Nike's FuelBand leading the way, so-called wearables are expected to grow from an $8 billion (in annual revenue) market today to a $20 billion one by 2017, according to Futuresource Consulting. Using brainwaves to control them seemed like, well, a no-brainer.

????But Garten wanted to create something meaningful -- something that people would use every day. Not a gadget or novelty. So she watched and waited for the market to develop. Muse, the company's new $299 brainwave-controlled headband, will start shipping in May. With a splashy debut at this year's Consumer Electronics Show and what Garten reports as strong pre-orders from consumers and corporate employee assistance programs, the company's wait to go into hardware appears to be paying off.

????Garten and her two co-founders, Trevor Coleman and Chris Aimone, started their Toronto-based company in 2009 and spent its first three years creating experiences driven by technology based on electroencepholagraphy, or EEG for short. Whether it was a chair that levitated into the air as a person became more relaxed or giving several thousand visitors to the 2010 Olympic Games the chance to change the lighting on Toronto's CN Tower, Canada's Parliament Building and Niagara Falls, the company showed users that their minds could influence the world.

????The company earned roughly a million dollars per year doing branded installations. More importantly, though, the efforts yielded insights into how people interacted with the technology, helping Interaxon better understand how to apply EEG tech to a consumer product.

????Garten described a day when someone came into the lab to do one of their user tests. "It was the first time we had really test-run the algorithm which could tell when you were focused and when you got stressed," she says. "There was a little bleep on the screen every time he got distracted. My heart sort of jumped every time I saw that bleep." Her team realized what they had to offer people was a way to learn to exercise control over themselves.

????For the last two years the team has largely shut down its demonstration and consulting operations to focus on developing Muse, a personal EEG device that sends readings to your phone or tablet. "Basically, [it] teaches you to calm your mind," Garten says. "With a calm mind, you can do more in life."

????Muse is shaped like a conventional headband, but it sits on your ears like eyeglasses and runs across your face, just above the eyebrows. It has seven sensors that collect data. Garten says the included application has activities on it that help to calm and settle the mind, such as before bed. Soon, it might also be helpful for noticing when your mind has wandered during a task.