Wired Cafe' at Omni Hotel Palm terrace during Comic-Con

Technology Launches at Comic-Con 2012

By Karen Ostlund

Photos: Karen Ostlund 

Red carpet photos by Getty Images

San Diego CA (Hollywood Today) 07/23/2012 - WIRED Café was the three days indoor-outdoor tech oasis at the rooftop of the Omni Hotel in San Diego, where talent and media were welcomed to relax and recharge with complimentary food and exclusive cocktails at HBO’s Game of Thrones Bar.

Swiss army-knives & watches from Victorinox Swiss Army

 Everybody experienced activations from café partners including custom Swiss Army-knives and a confession booth from Victorinox Swiss Army, the latest in 3D technology with XPAND’s 3D glasses demo, and to sit for a superhero caricature – which was drawn on a whiteboard for an interactive experience by AVI-SLP.

The Gadget Lab presented laser-engraved iPhone covers from Epilog Laser, and new offerings from Speck and Nanodots magnets. In addition, guests enjoyed a free Wi-Fi  blogging lounge, equipped with Skype set-ups  from 80’s Tees, BodyMedia, Feast by iStockphoto,  Vaper’s Corner, SyFy, GungHo and Caseable.

Necomimi brainwave cat ears launch at the Soho House in West Hollywood

Talents seen to stop by to participate in the revelry at the café included:

Anna Kendrick, Kellan Lutz, Nikki Reed, Chris Daughtry, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Guillermo Del Toro, Jaime King, John C. Reilly, Morgan Spurlock, Rick Malambri, Stan Lee, Sarah Silverman, Tom Arnold, Lucas Till and Danai Guira.

Necomimi "safe brainwave" with a sensor in forehead, which makes the ears move

NeuroSky and Necomimi teamed up as they launched their latest brainchild during the Comic-Con convention, and later at the Soho House in West Hollywood, July 20th.

Necomimi is a brainwave set of cat ears, which first launched in Japan last year.

It is powered by NeuroSky’s state of the art technology. The headset measures your brainwaves with a sensor on the forehead, allowing the ears to move according to your state of mind and mood in real time.

Attendees from all over the country came out for the U.S. launch of Necomimi cat ears at the Andaz Hotel Rooftop Lounge in San Diego. They came to test the brainwave monitoring headsets, which created quite a stir during their four-day appearance at Comic Con in San Diego.

Guests enjoyed Necomimi cocktails and cat-themed cupcakes served by cocktail waitresses wearing the moving headsets, along with red superhero capes.

Everyone in attendance enjoyed trying on the cat ears, which move according to the user’s brainwave patterns and emotions. Ears perk up when the wearer is alert, droop down when the user is relaxed and spin in circular motions when the user is “in the zone.” Partygoers were also able to speak with members of the Necomimi team, who explained the technology and safety behind the headsets.

Necomimi first became popular within the anime and costume communities in Japan because of a Youtube video by Neurowear, a fashion electronics company.

The cat ears use four emotional states to create cat-like reactive movements that show how interested or relaxed the wearer is.  When something catches the user’s attention, the ears shoot straight up.  When the wearer is relaxed, the ears droop down.

Comic-Con convention in San Diego and West Hollywood’s Soho House were the first stops of their US launch, before returning to Japan.

When both highly focused and highly relaxed–or “in the zone”–the ears will wiggle back and forth:

High relaxation – ears will droop down slowly

Focus or relaxation – ears will perk up and droop down

High focus- ears will perk up quickly

High interest – ears will perk up and wiggle.

For more info: Necomimi.com

Nanodots magnets: create your own bracelet, that will not fall apart

Wired mag. publisher Howard Mittman, actors Sarah Silverman & John C. Reilly at Wired Cafe'

Writer & founder Stan Lee from Marvel Comics at Wired Cafe'