Dhruva/EEG research
I was interested in working with brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), so I had to do some research to find out which are the best, most affordable, and most hackable options out there.
This is what I came up with:
Contents
Summary
Emotive
Mostly intended for gaming
EPOC
14 channels (+2 reference)
9 axis motion sensors (for removal of motion artifacts)
Saline electrodes (no gel)
Bluetooth connection
800 USD or 53640 INR
Insight
5 channels (+2 reference)
9 axis motion sensors
Long life semi-dry polymer electrodes
Bluetooth or custom wireless USB receiver
Hackability
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1687432
https://raphaelwimmer.wordpress.com/2010/09/13/emotiv-epoc-brain-computer-interface-cracked-open/
“We strongly oppose this kind of action. It violates the end user license and seriously threatens our viability.” - Emotiv
Bottom Line
Not really hackable, company is making significant efforts to prevent it.
MUSE
Features
http://developer.choosemuse.com/technical-specifications
Three axis accelerometer
4 channels (one reference)
“decent” output signal quality. For basic readings, it does the job.
Hackability
Company encourages using it in novel ways
http://www.choosemuse.com/blog/3-hack-tacular-muse-modifications/
Seems to be the wearable to hack for a lot of people.
Bottom Line
Company is ambitious, open to new ideas. Seems like a lot of people have hacked it and turned it into something interesting. This includes music composition.
Neurosky
Mindwave
http://neurosky.com/biosensors/eeg-sensor/biosensors/
Features
1 channel (earlobe reference)
Very basic sensor
Dry electrode
NeuroSky eSense
A/D
amplification off head detection
noise filtering for 50/60Hz powerline interference
runs on single AAA battery (6-8 hours use time)
wireless pairing (Bluetooth?)
Hackability
Neurosky supports hacks on its website. It has a page dedicated to them. Furthermore, there are several tutorials available.
http://www.instructables.com/id/The-Modifying-Course-of-MindWave-RF-to-MindWave-BL/
Sparkfun has tutorial on it https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/hackers-in-residence---hacking-mindwave-mobile/all.pdf
https://hackaday.com/tag/neurosky/
https://www.hackster.io/neurosky/projects
https://hackaday.io/project/11146-train-your-brain-with-neurofeedback
http://www.frontiernerds.com/brain-hack
http://developer.neurosky.com/docs/doku.php?id=projects
https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/hackers-in-residence---hacking-mindwave-mobile
Necomimi
https://store.necomimi.com/products/necomimi
Toy using neurosky’s sensor. Easily hackable, but the cost is nearly half that of the mind wave.
Hackability
http://www.instructables.com/id/Necomimi-bluetooth-EEG-data-hack/
https://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?topic=422997.0
https://www.hackster.io/Imetomi/use-the-force-or-your-brainwaves-9e839b
Bottom Line
Mindwave is very hackable. Seems to be the go to choice for people who want cheap EEG hacking options. Maybe the data is not as clear as you might want, but its the most basic option available. Furthermore, the manufacturers seem to embrace the idea of hacking.
Necomimi is probably even more rudimentary, output-wise. However, it is half the price and hackable. At only around 3500 rupees, its by far the cheapest option.
OpenBCI
There isn’t much to be said about this. Its clearly the most DIY option out there, and has lots of open source code that you can use, and has direct connections to arduino and other microcontrollers.
The readings are “research grade” according to the website, and several people recommend it in online forums.
An example of a project:
OpenEEG
http://openeeg.sourceforge.net/doc/modeeg/modeeg.html
This is the DIY version. Basically its a bunch of schematics online to build your own EEG sensor. However, the cost of all the parts racks up quite quickly, and can exceed $200 depending on where you get it from.
Worth looking into as an option. However, it obviously demands significantly more time as you have to build and calibrate it, and its probably less useful than OpenBCI in the long run.
