--- description: Find out why Naqi Neural Earbuds is one of the best inventions of 2023 title: Naqi Neural Earbuds: The 200 Best Inventions of 2023 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdbb4199a50a63e6d/698a417586f68e551b6f2e1a/best-inventions-2023-naqi-earbuds.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Oct 24, 2023 # Control for Quadriplegics Naqi Neural Earbuds by [Chris Stokel-Walker](/author/chris-stokel-walker/) ## Chris Stokel-Walker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  When David Segal’s friend Keith broke his neck and pelvic bone at 18 and became a quadriplegic, his life changed immeasurably. Keith’s experience led Segal to invent Naqi Earbuds, which he calls “a safe, noninvasive, universal, invisible, and silent command and control system.” Electrical signals made by clenching your jaw or lifting an eyebrow turn into commands; wearers hear a voice to help navigate the invisible user interface. The still-in-­development device could be used to control wheelchairs or smart-home items. Segal sees pro gaming as another arena for the tech. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2023/6323031/control-for-quadriplegics/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2023/6323031/control-for-quadriplegics/"},"headline":"Control for Quadriplegics","datePublished":"2023-10-24T11:00:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T05:10:12.858Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2023/6323031/control-for-quadriplegics/","keywords":["list","franchise","ecommerce","Magazine","best inventions","Best Inventions 2023"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdbb4199a50a63e6d/698a417586f68e551b6f2e1a/best-inventions-2023-naqi-earbuds.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Chris Stokel-Walker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/chris-stokel-walker/"}],"creator":"Chris Stokel-Walker","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdbb4199a50a63e6d/698a417586f68e551b6f2e1a/best-inventions-2023-naqi-earbuds.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2023/6323031/control-for-quadriplegics/","name":"Control for Quadriplegics"}}]}] ```