Those who have seen the movie Inception know how cool it was for the characters to be able to hook themselves up to a machine that instantly knocks them out to enter a dream world—or even a dream within a dream.
And now that technology has come to the real world by the way of this new wearable that will allow the user to control their dreams.
The problem in the movie is that the characters must remember that they are in a dream. This is why they carry a token along with them so they can complete their mission and not get sidetracked by their own personal stuff floating in their subconscious. Being aware that you are dreaming is known as lucid dreaming, and this is actually what the iBand+ EEG headband allows the user to experience.
Developed by the Amsterdam-based company Arenar, the iBand+ headband works by sensing and monitoring brain waves to determine when the user is in the REM phase of sleep, the phase when dreams take place.
Once identified by its auto-learning software algorithm, the wearable emits light patterns via its LED lights and its separate pillow speakers play audio that reminds users that they are sleeping without waking them up. Now that the person realizes that they are in a dream, they can take control of their dream to have experiences they desire. Think of it has being able to reconstruct the city of Paris alongside Leonardo DiCaprio.
Lucid dreams feel as real as reality, where everything is vivid and everything a person sees, hears, tastes or touches appears as though it's in the real world. And while this seems like sci-fi, scientific research has found that lucid dreaming is real and it can help in boosting creativity, problem solving, developing language and working through nightmares.
More than just allowing people to become lucid dreamers, the iBand+ also tracks and monitors overall sleep quality and time. This is done via its accompanying app, which provides feedback to help the user get the best night's sleep so that they wake up feeling completely well-rested. The iBand+ is equipped with sensors to track body movement, heart rate and even body temperature.
The user can also choose the audio-visuals they want to hear and see, with the option to use content from their own music library to be played in their dreams.
The iBand+ also serves as an alarm, using its LED lights to mirror natural sunlight along with sounds to help the user wake up.
This wearable is currently in its prototype phase with its creators launching a Kickstarter campaign on Monday, Sept. 12 to help fund the project to make it a reality.
Those who pledge €129 (about $145) can get the early bird price for the iBand+, which is expected to be shipped in July 2017.
The company has a goal of raising €50,000 (more than $56,000) to fund the project, with the campaign concluding on Oct. 27.
