Remember the creepy-looking headbands that measure the brain activity of primary school students during class? The trial programme was meant to track students’ attention levels using electroencephalography (EEG), but it’s now been stopped at the request of their parents.

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.