Netflix hosted their seasonal Hack Day in January 2017, where the product development team takes a 24-hour break from everyday work to experiment with new technologies and unique ideas that could improve the Netflix experience.
Out of their Winter 2017 installment came one of their most intriguing ideas yet: Mindflix.
Mindflix is basically a middle ground between mind control and Netflix. Yes, mind control. The idea of Mindflix is to allow Netflix viewers to browse through the app with their head rather than a remote control, while also selecting shows and movies by just thinking about what they want to watch.
You may be thinking — “Wait, what? How is that even possible?” Well, according to the Netflix tech blog, engineers are relying on a Muse headband that can sense brainwaves to do the wireless control. The Muse brain-reading headband is currently being marketed as a product that helps train meditative practices and mindfulness.
The TV streaming pioneers have taken this headband, flipped it upside down, and are hoping it can be used to train those who can’t seem keep track of there remote control or just like really cool gadgets. To be clear, the headband doesn’t actually read minds, it detects brain activity and uses feedback to direct pre-established actions.
Netflix exposed some of their other ideas from the Hack Day, including an ugly Christmas sweater that can spell out messages through Christmas lights like that seen in Stranger Things and a social viewing experience that would allow customers with multiple Netflix accounts to watch the same shows. They also toyed with the idea of having a donation page where customers can send money to certain charities after watching documentaries.
While this might not be practically, or even currently workable, it’s nice to know people are always working on the next big advancement in technology. Even if is just helping us ditch that old TV remote.
