When putting on the otherwise bland morotcycle helmet-esque Experience Helmet, from Lithuanian artist Aiste Noreikaite, one becomes immersed in their own private sound installation, all of which composed by their own brainwaves.
Built around an EEG device “that senses the activity of neurons in the brain and indicates whether a person’s thoughts are either meditative or attentive” on a scale of 0-100. Once this is determined, a numerical value is attached to frequency, with higher numbers representing calm states. With that, one’s thoughts are able to transoform into contemporary minimal music, making beats become more frenetic with more active thoughts. Additionally, as two tones of slightly different frequency enter each ear, the brain produces a “binaural beat”: a frequency that vibrates at 10Hz inside the brain, which is equivalent to the Alpha brainwaves that occur in states of light meditation.
With this, the helmet can not only be used for music and art, but also as a destresser and an aid to those suffering from PTSD, which is where Noreikaite looks to further her research. In speaking with Fast Company she has stated, “I would like to help people with mental issues and see how this whole brainwave thing—the binaural beats—can make a person feel better,” adding, “I really like the idea that it’s not direct music. It’s something that is being created by brain. It’s another area of the unknown, what our brains can do.”
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[All Photos: courtesy Aiste Noreikaite]
Source: Fast Company
