Looxid Labs has created a virtual reality headset that can predict a user’s Tinder swipes using machine learning.
The device was exhibited at HTC’s recent Vive X accelerator program showcase.
Looxid modified an HTC VR headset to integrate brainwave scanning and eye tracking, and created a machine learning algorithm to interpret the data.
The technology “analyzes the movement of the wearer’s eyes and brain activity, while also tracking which features a given user tends to find attractive”, reports Android Headlines.
The Wareable journalist who tried the headset described its mechanism: “As I made my selections, the headset read my brain waves to try and work out what types of faces I find attractive.
“In the second phase I was given a whole new selection of people, but with each swipe it told me whether it had correctly predicted which way I’d swipe with a percentage. It got it right every time, and the margin of error got smaller the more I swiped.
“I’d been busted. I was then show a readout of my brain activity, a guilty look inside my thought process. It was kind of weird.”
The applications of brainwave and eye movement scanning include the possibility of brainwave-based communication.
Elon Musk’s Neuralink is one high profile firm currently exploring the space.
Looxid is looking to make brainscan-enabled VR headsets commercially available this summer, pricing the products at around $3500.
Read more here.