San Francisco Bay area startup HUMM has launched a new headset called Edge, which is the first brain-stimulating headband to activate the part of the brain responsible for learning and memory. The wearable device improves cognitive performance while you work, without the need for additional meditation or special diets.
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“For the past two years, we’ve been developing a way for people to stay at the top of their game whenever they need it most; at school, the office, or even in their favorite hobby,” said Iain McIntyre, co-founder and CEO, HUMM. “Until recently this electrical brain stimulation technology has been confined to neuroscience labs, where the devices were very clinical and expensive, or hacked together with wires and batteries in the homes of hardcore biohackers. The Edge headset solves all of those issues so that now anyone can focus more, learn more and kick their learning speed into overdrive.”
The technology is based on a form of non-invasive brain stimulation, which has previously been used to treat such conditions as depression and insomnia, but recently been found to provide cognitive benefits as well, said a press release.
The new device, which uses small electrical signals that amplify brainwave patterns (a technology similar to the one used by the U.S. military), helps people learn faster and retain more information than ever before. You simply wear the headband-like headset for 15 minutes prior to a learning session and immediately get a brainpower boost that lasts for at least an hour.
The search for brain boosting technology is nothing new to Silicon Valley, but HUMM’s technology represents a significant step forward, said McIntyre. Edge allows “the user to directly improve the performance of the brain in a highly targeted way, without the side effects of popular alternatives like caffeine or nootropics,” he said.
HUMM has been giving students, professionals and biohackers located in the San Francisco Bay Area early opportunities to try the technology, and the startup already has 100 customers for its early access program. Users’ results indicate working memory has improved dramatically. HUMM has conducted its own clinical trial at a prestigious Australian university and is also commissioning further third party studies in the US next year.
Edge features two primers on the front of the headset which apply a barely perceptible transcranial alternating currentstimulation (tACS) to the front of a user’s head. Research has shown that during a boosting session, many neurons in the prefrontal cortex adjust their electrical patterns to match the signal from the primers. This amplifies the brainwave patterns responsible for improved information processing and working memory, so users attain peak mental performance. Not only does the headset help boost brainpower, it provides alerts and suggestions by tracking a user’s cognitive state and reports on their focus, fatigue and stress over time.
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HUMM invites interested users to sign up for a place in their limited early access program by visiting www.boostwithedge.com. By becoming one of the first Edge users, you get immediate access to a prototype headset, discounted purchase price on release, and an optional consultation to learn more about improving your memory and attention with the Edge headset which is expected to launch to the public in late 2019.
