It took almost five years and a new name. But Jacob Flood and David Doyon have finally achieved their goal: to produce a high-end wireless headset equipped with sensors capable of helping the user to know live the state of health of his brain. Next objective: to establish itself as the reference in this niche.
More precisely, the two co-founders of the young Montreal startup called Enophone want to somehow impose their brand on a global scale so that it becomes the “Fitbit of the brain”, an expression repeated quite often by both one and the other. another during the interview with The duty and which can only be attributed to both in equal parts.
Fitbit is a manufacturer of wristbands with sensors that act as a physical activity monitor. It was recently acquired by Google. Its devices can capture vital signs, such as heart rate and breathing rate, to provide them to the user, along with a host of advice on how to stay in better shape.
Understanding brain activity
Enophone’s helmet has four skin sensors (which stick to the skin) that act like an electroencephalograph. It therefore records cerebral electrical activity by means of electrodes placed on the scalp. This activity is analyzed live and categorized into one of three levels of intensity: mild, medium or intense, using a personal computer application of the same name. It all happens wirelessly, thanks to the magic of the Bluetooth protocol. A mobile app is in the plans, as well as a more extensive tips and advice section. Most often is “possibly.
“The most important thing for the user is that his signals remain stable,” says David Doyon. The more stable, the better. Then there are several ways to interpret the variations according to the context: tiredness, relaxation, concentration… With the context, we will be able to provide more advice and exercises, but for the moment we wanted to provide the data to the user. »
The concept seems to hit the mark. Young entrepreneurs from the South Shore of Montreal indicate that Enophone has now sold some 6,000 copies of its helmet of the same name. After a launch in the form of a crowdfunding campaign that has stretched a little, Mindset, the name by which the young shoot was known in its infancy, now has the capacity to deliver on the spot the copies purchased on its website. The device, an over-ear wireless stereo headset, is quite massive. It targets office workers or business travelers more than runners or sports enthusiasts.
The device is more than just a fitness tracker. It is also a wireless stereo headset with good quality active soundproofing. Its audio components are supplied by the Japanese company Onkyo, a well-known brand among hifi sound enthusiasts, which unfortunately had to declare bankruptcy last spring. It was acquired within days of the announcement by a Japanese consortium that includes another well-known electronics manufacturer: Panasonic.
Mental health and telecommuting
Mental health has never been talked about as much as since the beginning of the pandemic, in the spring of 2020. At the same time, working from home was reaching peaks in popularity around the world, for very obvious reasons. For Enophone, the table was set to present his device as a good way to understand his brain activity a little better without having to go to the doctor.
That said, Jacob Flood quickly makes the distinction between good mental health and good mental activity. “Suddenly, with telework, we all had to become mental health experts,” he says. We help to better understand the activity of the brain, which is useful for office workers or those whose mental activity is high every day. »
The helmet itself has four sensors that produce three types of data: stress level, alert level and mental efficiency level. This data is taken up by the application, which also includes a bank of instrumental musical pieces designed to influence the wearer’s mental state: to calm down, concentrate better, etc.
We help to better understand the activity of the brain, which is useful for office workers or those whose mental activity is high every day
This music bank will be improved over time. Enophone also hopes to tap into the library of online music services like Spotify to create custom music playlists tailored to the mental state of its customers.
“You can do a lot of things with music. It creates an atmosphere that influences brain activity, says Jacob Flood. You can listen to your own music, but our users use our song bank about half the time they wear their headphones. »
Deepening the analysis of the data captured and improving the tools provided to users is the next big step for the two leaders of Enophone. “We want to increase the added value of our helmet,” they say. While other manufacturers add features, like sleep tracking, or target other audiences, like business travelers always on a plane, Enophone focuses on office workers.
Enophone is not alone. Giants like Microsoft have the same strategy with their own headsets. This may be a sign that workers need to take better charge of their mental health…