MIT

MIT Student Develops Harry Potter-Inspired Brain-Analyzer Project

MIT Media Lab student Nataliya Kosmyna calls her fantasy-inspired creation her "Thinking Cap"

A post-doctoral student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has developed a project that can analyze brain activity and sort users into a Hogwarts house.

MIT Media Lab student Nataliya Kosmyna says her "Thinking Cap" project is made of noninvasive electrodes that capture a person's brain activity and then uses machine learning to detect what a user is imagining. The Boston Globe reports the electrodes are encased in a wizard hat prop modeled after the Sorting Hat from the popular "Harry Potter" series.

Kosmyna says the project can determine what a person is thinking about and use the information to sort them into a Hogwarts house in one test.

The cap was featured at a MIT exposition Tuesday. The still-in-development project's eventual purpose is to help students build self-esteem.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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