It felt like playing a game. When I see the white light, I quickly stretch out my fingers. If I see an orange light, I don’t do anything. I was taking an agility test on the Pison Ready, a wristband that claims to measure neurological signals coming from the brain to determine mental acuity. Nascar driver Anthony Alfredo used it to optimize his performance, according to Pison Technology’s website, and I had the chance to try it out firsthand at CES 2024.
The Pison Ready is a simple wristband stuffed with sensors that measure signals from the nervous system. It’s specifically targeted at users who need to keep a closer tab on their focus and cognitive performance, like athletes and those working in the transportation industry. The company initially developed the technology to help those living with ALS and says its tech is backed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the National Science Foundation and the Department of Defense. The Pison Ready launches in February and is another example of how wearables are paying more attention to mental wellness in addition to physical health.
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The Pison Ready is designed to measure metrics like reaction time, mental focus and agility for split-second decision-making through tests taken on your wrist. It’s not a general-purpose fitness monitor, but the company is working on a second model that can measure additional metrics similar to other smartwatches and fitness trackers. I took the agility test during my demo, which involved pressing a button in the app and watching for flashing lights on the wristband, which was my cue to react.
I performed surprisingly well considering I was sitting at a table in the middle of the bustling Las Vegas Convention Center, where saying it was hard to focus would be an understatement. I scored 83 out of 100, which was among the highest scores I could see in the app. That was after I failed miserably the first time I tried it. I wasn’t used to watching for a visual cue, especially after years spent reviewing smartwatches that passively measure metrics like heart rate and steps.
The Pison Ready will be sold as a subscription, with options including three months for $59, a year for $119 and two years for $199. There’s no additional charge for the wristband itself.
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Pison isn’t the first company to take measurements like this. Citizen Watch launched a smartwatch last year at CES that similarly claims to monitor alertness levels and fatigue using techniques based on research from the NASA Ames Research Center Fatigue Countermeasures Laboratory. But Citizen suspended sales of that watch after reviewers found numerous issues with general performance and health-tracking features. It’s perhaps another reminder that technologies like these don’t always deliver on their promises.
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I can’t speak to the Pison Ready’s accuracy, especially after trying it for only a few minutes. But it shows that the health tech space is at least attempting to further expand beyond just making sense of your activity and sleep data.
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