Facebook buys mind-reading wristband company

Social media giant Facebook has purchased start-up tech company CTRL-Labs who are developing devices that can pick up electrical signals from the brain.

The wristband may be the first of its kind to reach users, with the device competent of measuring neural activity to interpret gestures into computer controls.

This advanced piece of technology has been bought by Facebook and the deal is estimated to be worth between $500 million and $1 billion.

Andrew Bosworth (Facebook VR president) has said “It captures your intention so you can share a photo with a friend using an imperceptible movement or just by, well, intending to.” This technology would therefore make it possible to control your device without the physical touch element of pressing a button.

Facebook indicated it could take some time before the product reaches the market, however they are showing their strong commitment to developing hardware. Back in 2014, Facebook bought virtual reality start-up Oculus VR for approximately $2 billion!

Bosworth is hopeful that CTRL-Labs will help Facebook to “build this kind of technology, at scale and get it into consumer products faster”.

Facebook has said “The CTRL-Labs technology is an innovative input that Facebook hopes will be used to significantly improve the upcoming Facebook AR/VR experiences a few years down the road to fundamentally improve the user experience.”

In addition to the wristband, CTRL-Labs are working with Facebook on a headset capable of transferring a person’s thoughts onto a screen.

As AR and VR continues to develop and revolutionise our lives, we can only expect to see more gadgets like this appear in the market and become widely available.

However there have been mixed views on this news story as some feel that Facebook needs to be less involved with our lives.

What are your views? We’d love to hear from you! Comment below to share your thoughts.