A Canadian company has been named to Time Magazine’s list of the 200 greatest inventions of 2023.
Naqi Logix’s patented earbud technology uses gyroscopic sensors and muscle and brainwave sensors to allow users to command and control virtually any digital device, hands-free.
Inventor Dave Segal believes it will be a literal game-changer in E-Sports and videogaming, as an alternative to the joysticks and buttons on typical game controllers.
Segal has also demonstrated the technology using flight simulation software to fly a 737 aircraft.
However, the company has also used the technology to enable a person who is a quadriplegic to control a powered wheelchair, just with the earbud and without the need for a head array, sip-puff
straw or a joystick.
Former Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan, who is a quadriplegic, was brought in to try out the device.
“Just to know that this took me a few seconds to be able to operate this and usually it takes a while to get something down, so give me a few tries at it, I’ll be even better,” Sullivan said.
“I’ve been waiting for something like this my whole life. As a quadriplegic, I can say the ability to control a chair just by looking at where I want to go or by blinking my eyes to control the smart devices in the world around me is an amazing thing for me and other people with accessibility issues.”
Segal said this invention could change peoples’ lives.
“I just think anytime you give somebody an almost, what I’d consider magical ability to command, control and navigate your entire world without touching anything, looking at anything, or speaking voice commands, it’s a game-changer for humanity,” he said.
Naqi gets its name from the Annunaki gods, which ancient Sumerians believed controlled everything in the universe.
The company hopes to have the earbuds on the market early next year.