'Transcend' app uses brainwaves to guide, improve meditation

Advertisement
By Reuters | Updated: 6 March 2013 12:25 IST
'Transcend' app uses brainwaves to guide, improve meditation
A new smartphone app aims to ease stress and guide users through meditation by monitoring brain waves that change as people become more relaxed.

Transcend, made by the Canadian company Personal Neuro Devices, links the smartphone to a separately sold headset that records electrical activity along the forehead.

"It doesn't matter whether you're meditating as part of a secular practice, or spiritual practice. It all creates the same change in the brain," said Chad Veinotte, a director of the company, which launched the app last month.

The user picks the duration of time for the meditation and can also opt to listen to a guided audio meditation. A candle graphic in the app grows brighter as the quality of the practice increases, which is determined by brainwaves that indicate relaxation and concentration.

A graph in the app also shows the quality of meditation in real time throughout the session.

Advertisement

"You get to literally look at what's happening in the mind while you're doing the practice," Veinotte said.

Transcend is one of several apps available for the MindWave headsets made by San Jose, California, company NeuroSky, and which connect to smartphones wirelessly. San Francisco-based company Emotiv Systems also creates headsets that run apps.

Advertisement

NeuroSky's CEO, Stanley Yang, said other uses for the headsets include concentration and focus games.

Veinotte said the headsets, which are also known as brain computer interfaces, will become popular just as sensor-based fitness apps that track distance and speed have.

Advertisement

"We'll see headsets shrink and get more compact and easier to use, and become something you can wear all day every day," he said.

Headset manufacturers are working on making them more practical for everyday use by integrating them into musical headsets, and by making them more stylish.

"We're going to see an explosion in the types of applications available and the way in which people start paying attention to their minds," Veinotte said.

The app is available for Android. An iPhone version is expected to be released soon.

© Thomson Reuters 2013

 

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Transcend app, apps
Advertisement
Popular Mobile Brands
  1. Redmi Note 15 Pro+, iQOO Z10 Specifications Tipped Ahead of Debut
  2. Asus Vivobook 14 Launched in India With 14-Inch Screen, Snapdragon X Chip
  3. Vodafone Idea (Vi) Gives Extra Benefits With These Prepaid Plans: Report
  4. OnePlus Could Unveil a Compact Flagship Tablet Alongside the OnePlus 15T
  5. Vivo Y50m 5G, Vivo Y50 5G With 6,000mAh Battery Launched: All Details
  6. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 May Not Feature This Part From the Galaxy Z Fold 7
  7. Lenskart Will Use Snapdragon Chips in Upcoming Smart Glasses
  1. Algae-Grown Bioplastic Passes Mars Pressure Test, Boosting Hopes for Red Planet Habitats
  2. NASA Tests Modular Satellite Tech to Cut Launch Costs and Speed Missions
  3. NASA’s Twin TRACERS Satellites Will Monitor Space Weather to Shield Earth from Solar Storms
  4. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Might Not Feature Upgraded Titanium Backplate Included With Galaxy Z Fold 7: Report
  5. Samsung Galaxy Tab A11 LTE Version Reportedly Surfaces on FCC, IMEI Certification Websites
  6. Asus Vivobook 14 Launched in India With Snapdragon X Processor, 14-Inch LCD Screen: Price, Specifications
  7. Meta Says It Won't Sign EU’s GPAI Code of Practice Due to ‘Legal Uncertainties’
  8. OnePlus Teases Launch of New Tablet in India on July 23; OnePlus Pad Lite Expected to Debut
  9. Redmi Note 15 Pro+, iQOO Z10 Tipped to Feature Snapdragon Chipsets, 1.5K Resolution Displays
  10. Ubisoft's Upcoming Launches Include a New Ghost Recon Game, CEO Says
Gadgets 360 is available in
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2025. All rights reserved.