Facebook's secret mind-reading device 'to be unveiled next month'

Mark Zuckerberg last year hinted at a social network that could let people share information telepathically

It could launch alongside a drone, an augmented reality device and a medical project (REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov )

Facebook is developing at least four new consumer products that could be revealed at an April event, according to a new report.

The social network last year launched a futuristic hardware division called Building 8, which is said to be similar to Google X, the experimental lab behind the search company’s self-driving cars.

One of the prototypes created by Building 8 is a “brain computer interface” that sounds a lot like a platform once hinted at by Mark Zuckerberg, which would allow users to share information telepathically.

In a Q&A last year, Facebook’s CEO described how people would be able to “capture a thought, what you’re thinking or feeling in kind of its ideal and perfect form in your head, and be able to share that with the world”.

A new report in Business Insider suggests it could be revealed at Facebook’s developer conference next month, alongside a drone, an augmented reality device and a medical project being led by “an interventional cardiologist from Stanford with expertise in early-stage medical device development”.

According to people with knowledge of the matter, the company plans to sell millions of units of the Building 8 products, despite having minimal experience in the world of hardware.

Snap Inc., the company behind Snapchat, is incidentally also believed to be working on a drone.

Facebook has ripped Snapchat’s Stories feature on multiple occasions recently, adding a near-identical feature to Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and the main Facebook app.