Skip to main content
Scientific American
  • Cart 0
  • Forgot password?Loading
    Not yet registered?
  • |Newsletters
Advanced Search
  • COVID
  • Health
  • Mind & Brain
  • Environment
  • Technology
  • Space & Physics
  • Video
  • Podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Store
  • Subscribe
  • Current Issue
  • Cart0
  • Sign In
  • Newsletters
      • Share
      • Latest

      Head Chaise: Couching One's Thoughts into a Brain Wave Sofa [Slide Show]

      A neuro-feedback-contrived couch in Belgium that came literally out of one of the designer's heads

      • Share on Facebook
      • Share on Twitter
      • Share on Reddit
      • Share on LinkedIn
      • Share via Email
      • Print
      Head Chaise: Couching One's Thoughts into a Brain Wave Sofa [Slide Show]
      Slideshow (7) images
      View

      Head Chaise: Couching One's Thoughts into a Brain Wave Sofa [Slide Show]

        • Share
      • Simply Divan: The Brain Wave Sofa Upholstery to finish the job consisted of gray felt with buttons in the valleys. The alpha waves that inspired the contouring are present when your eyes are closed. Maassen and Verbruggen foresee the day when all they will have to do is close and open their eyes and a machine tool will start buzzing away... Dries Verbruggen and Lucas Maassen
      • They Sat on What They Had Done--and It Was Good Maassen [left] and Verbruggen take their creation for a test sit after machining is finished. Dries Verbruggen and Lucas Maassen
      • A Thought Materializes A computerized machine tool accepted a computer file of Maassen's three seconds of fame and milled the contours out of soft foam. Dries Verbruggen and Lucas Maassen
      • Choosing One's Best Work Each dimension of this stylized version of the three-second pattern chosen by Maassen and Verbruggen represents different characteristics of the alpha waves, which are present in a relaxed mental state... Dries Verbruggen and Lucas Maassen
      • Advertisement
      • Catching the Right Wave From a long train of alpha waves, ranging over a course of minutes, Verbruggen and Maassen picked a three-second segment in which Maassen had repeatedly closed and reopened his eyes. "The role of the designer is challenged in this procedure," they remarked in a prepared commentary on their project... Dries Verbruggen and Lucas Maassen
      • EEG as design schema The electronencephalogram (EEG) provided a 3-D plot from three seconds of recording. This plot became the design schema for machining the Brain Wave Couch. Dries Verbruggen and Lucas Maassen
      • From My Brain to Your Machine Tool Lucas Maassen, a furniture designer from Eindhoven in the Netherlands, donned a cap with a handful of electrodes when working with Verbruggen during the fall on this project, which was funded by the Flemish government in Belgium... Dries Verbruggen and Lucas Maassen
      • Previous
      • Next
      of
      • View all
      • Link copied!
      • Simply Divan: The Brain Wave Sofa
      • They Sat on What They Had Done--and It Was Good
      • A Thought Materializes
      • Choosing One's Best Work
      • Catching the Right Wave
      • EEG as design schema
      • From My Brain to Your Machine Tool
      Advertisement
      Advertisement

      Newsletter

      Get smart. Sign up for our email newsletter.

      Sign Up

      Support Science Journalism

      Discover world-changing science. Explore our digital archive back to 1845, including articles by more than 150 Nobel Prize winners.

      Subscribe Now!Support Science Journalism

      Follow us

      • instagram
      • soundcloud
      • youtube
      • twitter
      • facebook
      • rss

      Scientific american arabic

      العربية
      • Return & Refund Policy
      • About
      • Press Room
      • FAQs
      • Contact Us
      • Site Map
      • Advertise
      • SA Custom Media
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • California Consumer Privacy Statement
      • Use of cookies/Do not sell my data
      • International Editions
      Scientific American is part of Springer Nature, which owns or has commercial relations with thousands of scientific publications (many of them can be found at www.springernature.com/us). Scientific American maintains a strict policy of editorial independence in reporting developments in science to our readers.

      © 2023 Scientific American, a Division of Springer Nature America, Inc.

      All Rights Reserved.

      Scroll To Top

      Support science journalism.

      Scientific American paper issue and on tablet

      Thanks for reading Scientific American. Knowledge awaits.

      Already a subscriber? Sign in.

      Thanks for reading Scientific American. Create your free account or Sign in to continue.

      Create Account

      See Subscription Options

      Continue reading with a Scientific American subscription.

      You may cancel at any time.

      Sign in.