Japan’s brain wave-reading cat ears are back, with a brand-new twist!

Mood-sensing ears for catgirls and catboys smash crowdfunding goal.

A while back, Japanese tech company Neurowear made the dream of cosplayers, otaku, and feline fans in general come true when they developed Necomimi. Derived from the Japanese words neko mimi, “cat ears,” Necomimi was a wearable device that you put on your head and gave you a set of cat ears.

These ears were more than just cute, though. The feature that made them amazing is that the headset could read your brainwaves, and then the ears would move automatically to reflect your current emotional state!

Necomimi have been out of stock for a while, though, but if you missed out the first time around, or simply want a new pair, you’ll be happy to know that Neurowear is putting the finishing touches on a new and improved Necomimi model, and there’s a crowdfunding campaign for it going on right now.

The new Necomimi operate similarly to the original version. You slip them over your head like a pair of headphones or hairband, then attach a clip to your left earlobe and position the sensor near your forehead.

Once the device is powered on and picking up your brain waves, the ears will stand up if you’re concentrating on something…

…fold over when you’re relaxed…

…and, most adorably of all, twitch and wiggle when you’re feeling a mix of focus and relaxation.

Neurowear boasts that the non-ear parts of the device are lighter and more compact than they used to be for the old version, and there’s another upgrade too. The new Necomimi are equipped with a speaker, accompanying the ears’ concentration mode with a nyan/meow and relaxed moments with a gentle purring.

If you want to be a quiet kitty, though, that’s OK too, as you can turn off the speaker function while still letting the ears do their thing.

There’s currently a campaign going on for the new Necomimi on crowdfunding site Makuake, but if you’re worried it might not make its target, you can put your mind at ease. With over 40 days still left in the campaign, it’s already more than tripled its target of 500,000 yen (US$4,545), so it looks like the new Necomimi is a go. Reward tiers offering a pair start at 13,365 yen, and the campaign site can be found here.

Source: Makuake via IT Media
Images: Makuake
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