Hands-on with the consumer-ready Muse headband and software

If you think the person above looks weathered, broken and a little bit ill, you'd be right. After all, it's the last day of CES, and although this editor wasn't sure he had any working neurons left, he nevertheless took a trip
to InteraXon's booth to check out the consumer-ready version of Muse, the mind-probing headband. We first came across Muse this time last year, and in terms of hardware, only minor changes have been made.

 The EEG sensors in contact with your forehead -- seven in total, measuring four channels -- are now made of conductive ink instead of cold metal, the whole thing is more flexible, and rubbery cushions have been added to its ends.

These make wearing the headband perfectly comfortable, but otherwise, its form factor remains unchanged. The band itself is available for pre-order for 270 bucks, with the first units expected to start shipping in spring.

To make use of the hardware, InteraXon has, of course, developed companion software for iOS and Android (the band communicates with mobile devices via Bluetooth).

Last year, we saw a basic demo whereby changes in our brain activity triggered different events in a wintery scene. What the company has built over the past year, however, is much more polished.