Remember the creepy-looking headbands that measure the brain activity of primary school students during class? The trial program was meant to track students’ attention levels using electroencephalography (EEG), but it’s now been stopped at the request of the parents.
Parents at Xiaoshun central primary School in Jinhua City, Zhejiang province said that they were concerned about the kids’ privacy and well-being after reports about the trial started appearing in international media.
The devices were developed by US-Chinese company BrainCo. BrainCo says that the headbands were only used for half an hour, twice a week. The company denies violating data privacy, adding that its goal is to help students improve concentration and learning. Yang Zhangpeng, the company’s director of public relations, said that foreign reports on the brain-wave monitoring devices have been biased and inconsistent about the facts.