Stressed When You Bike? New Helmet Tells You Where, and When

GPS devices tell us how to find places or whether we're near a restaurant or fire station.  Now those on  bike helmets can even tell you which neighborhoods to avoid, by how much they stress you.

 Huh?  According to smartplanet.com, a new brain-reading helmet can indicate how stressed you are on a bike ride -- and it also lets you see where you were when your anxiety levels were the highest.

 Janet Fang writes that the MindRider helmet uses built-in sensors and an electrode to translate electroencephalogram (EEG) feedback into an embedded LED display. "Green lights indicate a calm, focused, active mental state. Yellow lights mean you’re slightly agitated," she reports. And red warns of drowsiness and anxiety; flashing red lights indicate panic.

 The electronic EEG can pick up "10 types of brainwaves that signal emotion," Fang explains.  With the new helmet "You can actually see where along your route you were stressed out and use that to help plan your return trip. It’s a little like the traffic layer on Google Maps, except it tracks your mood and mental experience," she notes.

 So who's ready for a ride?  I usually know when I'm stressed but maybe a GPS device is the next right thing for taking our emotional temperature.  




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