One of the biggest problems with voice-activated services – anything from Siri to Text dictation – is privacy. You don’t exactly want everyone in the room to hear your conversation with your significant other or your personal shopping list or whatever it might be. If you think the solution to that is mind-controlled technology, you are probably thinking too far in the future. Until then, humanity is probably left with more awkward solutions like HushMe – the “world’s first voice mask for mobile phones.” Yep, it is a muzzle-like device that fits around your mouth and claims to obscure your voice so that others can’t hear it. While you may balk at the look of it, I would be willing to bet that companies with remote work options will start requiring tools like this to protect privacy and trade secrets. It is usually these more awkward ideas that catch on than the more practical ones. Regardless of whether anyone wants one of these or not, I could also see the idea being integrated into full immersion VR headsets like the Feel Real Nirvana. Then implement Intel’s Merged Reality so that you can walk around in one of these masks – maybe make some models that look more like a Boba Fett helmet (or even maybe ones with interchangeable face-plates where you can 3D print a scan of your face for the front to really creep people out) – and VR will go mobile, immersive, and augmented. If you have ever dug into much Science Fiction, this is pretty much what most fancy futuristic helmets do anyways. We are just seeing the creation of that one part at a time.