Cognitive Futures Symposium​​​​​​​​

07-Dec-2026 | TU Delft Aula (Frans van Hasseltzaal)

About the event

Advances in consumer neurotechnology are making it increasingly possible to sense and interpret cognitive and affective states outside the laboratory. Technologies such as wearable EEG and fNIRS are opening new possibilities for applications in areas including learning, productivity, attention management, health and wellbeing. At the same time, important challenges remain: cognitive signals are noisy and highly individual, their interpretation is context-dependent, and the resulting data can be difficult for people to understand, trust, and meaningfully engage with.

These possibilities and challenges raise important questions:

How do we imagine a future where cognitive data tracking will be a part of everyday life?

How do we design interactions with cognitive data that invite responsible engagement and reflection, while also acknowledging data subjectivity and interindividual differences?

How should we process data to allow the extraction of meaningful metrics for everyday users, while also preserving their privacy?

This symposium brings together researchers, practitioners, and industry partners working across consumer neurotechnology, cognitive sensing, HCI, signal processing, data visualisation, design, and related fields. The aim is to create connections across disciplines that often address different parts of the same problem: from sensing and modelling cognitive signals to representing, explaining, and interacting with cognitive data. Through talks, discussions, and opportunities for exchange, we aim to identify shared challenges, explore opportunities for collaboration, and contribute to a growing interdisciplinary community around consumer neurotechnology and cognition-aware systems.

How to participate

There are two ways to take part in the symposium: join us as an attendee, or contribute your work.

In both cases, participation is free.

There are limited spots, so make sure to register early!

Attend the symposium

You are welcome to register as a general attendee and take part in the full programme.

Showcase your work

We also invite submissions of student projects, research posters, and industry demos related to consumer neurotechnology, cognitive sensing, cognitive data, and related topics. Selected contributions will be showcased during the afternoon session from 15:00–16:30. In these cases, it will be required to present a poster.

All showcase submissions will be reviewed by the organising team before acceptance. If you would like to present your work, please indicate this during registration and provide the requested information about your project, poster, or demo. The submission deadline is 5 November 2026.

Student projects and research posters will also be eligible for the Poster Award, announced at the end of the symposium.

Keynote speakers

Program

Why you should attend

Consumer neurotechnology sits at the intersection of many research communities, but those communities do not always have many opportunities to exchange perspectives. This symposium is designed to bring them into the same room: from researchers developing sensing and signal-processing methods to those studying interaction, interpretation, visualisation, design, and real-world use of cognitive data.

By attending, you will be able to:

• discover how other disciplines approach challenges in consumer neurotechnology and cognitive sensing;

• exchange ideas around sensing, modelling, interpretation, visualisation, and interaction with cognitive data;

• meet researchers and practitioners from across the 4TU community and beyond;

• identify opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration, shared experiments, and future research projects;

• contribute to discussions on the opportunities and challenges of bringing cognitive sensing technologies into real-world, everyday contexts;

• become part of a growing community around consumer neurotechnology, cognitive data interaction, and cognition-aware systems.

The symposium is intended not only as a space to present research, but also as an opportunity to build connections between communities working on different parts of the same broader challenge.

Organisers

The symposium is organised by the Cognitive Futures Lab. The Lab and the symposium were made possible by financial support from the 4TU.NIRICT Community Funding.

Location

TU Delft Aula (Frans van Hasseltzaal)

Mekelweg 5

Delft

2628CC