Tech

Muse 2: The gadget that can read your mind (yes, really)

The Muse 2 is a multi-sensor meditation device that can read your brainwaves in real time and offer you useful feedback to improve your meditation skills and become more relaxed.

Written by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, Senior Contributing Editor June 16, 2019 at 7:30 a.m. PT

I get to handle and play with a lot of gadgets, but for me few have been as intriguing as the Muse 2. Why? Because the Muse 2 can actually read my mind.

Seriously, it can.

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The Muse 2 is a follow-on to the original Muse, one of those crowdfunded projects that actually resulted in a successful, and very unique product. The Muse was originally just a head-mounted electroencephalogram (EEG) monitor designed to help people relax and learn the skills needed to better meditate.

Combined with a very well thought out app, the Muse was a great tool, and I used it extensively to help myself get a handle on stress and anxiety, and helping to calm my mind.

It was a good tool.

Muse 2: The brain-sensing headband designed to help you relax

The Muse 2 builds on the success of the original, expanding the features list tremendously, adding a raft of new sensors that can access the mind, heart, body, and breath:

Mind: EEG
Heart: PPG (photoplethysmography) + Pulse Oximetry
Body: Accelerometer
Breath: PPG + Gyroscope

How does it work? Here's how the makers describe it:

Muse is an EEG device widely used by neuroscience researchers around the world. It uses advanced signal processing to interpret your mental activity to help guide you. When your mind is calm and settled, you hear peaceful weather. Busy mind? As your focus drifts, you'll hear stormy weather that cues you to bring your attention back to your breath.

Yes, that's basically it. Seems simple, but it works.

Using Muse 2 is easy, just as you'd expect from a device designed to help you relax and calm your mind!

You pop the headband on your forehead and follow the instructions on your app. The app is particularly good because it is very progressive in that it holds your hand a lot in the beginning, but does this less and less as you become more experienced.

There are also a number of third-party apps that allow you to do some interesting stuff with the data, including getting access to the raw, unprocessed data.

Priced at $249 (you can pick it up cheaper from outlets such as Amazon.com) it might seem pricey, but if you're trying to get more calm into your life, the price is a lot cheaper than a vacation or therapy, and once you've bought the gadget you have access to it wherever and whenever you want.

Here's an interesting piece by a user who used their Muse band for a 1,000 days straight. It's a really interesting read.

The Muse 2 features a built-in rechargeable battery which is good for 5 hours of continuous use, and comes with apps for both iOS and Android.