Obviously Hitachi are interested in more than just tagging everything on the planet – they want to watch how your brain works, too. Their new brain-scanner, based on their optical topography technology, examines blood flow in the brain tissue to determine where the activity is taking place in real time – which is quite impressive for a control box and headset that add up to just over a kilogram in mass. The potential uses are manifold – but we can guess that the neuromarketing vultures will be all over it like flies once it hits the market.