Mind-reading helmet that picks up brain's electrical signals to be released this year after researchers shrink complex tech that can take up an entire room

  • Two helmet-sized devices developed by Kernel can read a wearer's brain activity
  • The device stands in stark contrast to much bulkier brain-scanning machines
  • Kernel says it will be ready to release its system later this year 

A California-based startup says it has found a way to shrink typically bulky brain-reading technology into a compact helmet.

The startup, called Kernel, has unveiled two new systems according to a report by Bloomberg, both of which are small enough to fit on a helmet-sizes cap. Together, they can both see and record brain activity.

The pair of devices, which haven't been pictured or released to the public, reportedly stand in stark contrast to other commercial brain-reading equipment like electroencephalography machines which are rather bulky and require a trained technician to use.

A magnetoencephalography machine like the one pictured can take up an entire room and require patients to be confined

A magnetoencephalography machine like the one pictured can take up an entire room and require patients to be confined 

Other devices like the magnetoencephalography machine take up an entire room and require patients' heads to be confined inside.    

Specifically Kernel's systems, called Flux and Flow, can measure both electromagnetic energy and blood flow using light and a computer algorithm powered by the startup's custom microchips. 

The company hopes that the devices will be able to give insights into ailments like schizophrenia or even enabling paralyzed people to formulate words just by thinking.

They also hope that by using Flux and Flow for neuroscience that they will help treat depression and other disorders that affect the brain.

Given its size, the company is hopeful that scanning one's brain signals can be done on a more efficient and wider scale as well. 

Kernel says it won't release its devices to the public until later this year. 

Kernel won't be without competition, however. Startups funded by companies like Facebook have also showed interest in developing similar technologies. 

Last year Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg publicly discussed a startup purchased by Facebook called CTRL-Labs that aims to create brain-to-computer interfaces. 

Kernel's devices will go beyond a typical MRI scan (pictured) which can only image tissue inside the brain (stock)

Kernel's devices will go beyond a typical MRI scan (pictured) which can only image tissue inside the brain (stock)

'The goal is to eventually make it so that you can think something and control something in virtual or augmented reality,' said Zuckerberg, in a the discussion 

Specifically, CTRL-labs is known to be developing on a watch-style device which intercepts signals which are sent from the brain to the fingers, in order to control a phone.

It works by assigning particular nerve messages from the brain to certain commands in the computer, which could in theory cut out the need to actually press any buttons.

Likewise, SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk is funding an initiative called Neuralink that aims to implant devices inside the brain.