Facebook is inching closer to a think-to-type computer system

Elon Musk isn't the only one who wants us to communicate via brainwaves. Facebook also has ambitious plans to interface with computers using wearables and one day let us type rapidly with our brains. Now, neuroscientists from the University of Califo...

Brain-controlled VR lightshows could lull you to sleep

By most accounts, technology wreaks havoc on our sleep. Even tools meant to help us sleep better can make insomnia worse. But sleep and tech don't have to be mutually exclusive. Artists and researchers from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RM...

New Open Source Platform Allows Anyone To Hack Brain Waves


For most people how the human brain works remains a mystery, let alone how to hack it.  A new Kickstarter campaign created by engineers Joel Murphy and Conor Russomanno aims to change this by putting...
    






PLX’s XWave Sport gives brainwave interfaces a casual look, triggers ’80s flashbacks

PLX's XWave Sport gives brainwave interfaces a casual look, triggers '80s flashbacks

Brainwave-guided interfaces are common. Most of the time, though, they're not what we'd call subtle. PLX Devices hopes to have that licked through the XWave Sport, a brain interface that disguises all its sensors through a fuzzy, exercise-friendly headband. Underneath the incredibly 1980s-retro (but washable!) look, you'll get about six hours per charge of tracking for concentration, relaxation and other noggin-related data that can transmit over Bluetooth to apps for Android, iOS or old-fashioned PCs. An SDK is available now, but pre-orders for the $100 XWave Sport won't ship until September 20th. That should give us enough time to perfect our Flashdance reenactments.

PLX's XWave Sport gives brainwave interfaces a casual look, triggers '80s flashbacks originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jun 2012 01:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Axio’s EEG headband helps you teach your brain to focus (hands-on)

Axio's EEG headband helps you teach your brain to focus handson

Usually when an EEG sensor headset graces these pages, it's used to peer into your thoughts or grant the wearer the power to control other gadgets with his or her mind. While such uses have appeal, start-up company Axio has a new EEG headband that aims to help you learn to better control your own brain. It tracks your level of mental focus in real-time and provides positive reinforcement audio feedback when you're mentally locked in. The neoprene band packs a trio of electrodes, a PCB with a Bluetooth radio and audio out, and a battery pack to power everything. It works by identifying the brainwave readings that correlate to ideal executive function in your pre-frontal cortex and shooting that data to your computer or phone via Bluetooth. Axio's software then shows an onscreen graph that charts your focus level in real-time, and for folks who prefer a more literal tracking method, there's a photo above the chart that moves in and out of focus along with your mind. Additionally, the headband provides pleasing audio neurofeedback when you're focused in order to train you to stay mentally engaged.

Unfortunately, we couldn't get much more information about the neurofeedback functionality, as the technology behind it is the company's secret sauce, and it won't divulge more until it's got the cash to bring the band to market. We also weren't able to actually test the band to see how it works, as it's still in the prototype phase and there's still a kink or two left to work out. Axio did tell us that the prototype we got our mitts on was the result of just six short months of work, and that after hacking together the original design using Arduino, the current iteration has a custom PCB better suited to Axio's needs. Co-founder Arye Barnehama also informed us that the band should be on sale by the end of summer, though he wouldn't say for how much or where we'll be able to pick one up. Sometime after it hits store shelves, Axio plans to release an SDK so that enterprising devs can make their own focus-aiding software and implement whatever audio feedback they prefer to help them take care of business -- a dose of Bachman-Turner Overdrive ought to do the trick.

Axio's EEG headband helps you teach your brain to focus (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jun 2012 20:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cornell students steer Pong using brain waves, can’t quite play during naps (video)

Cornell brain wave PongWe here at Engadget are always fans of brain wave experiments, and so we were delighted when two Cornell University electrical engineering students, Chuck Moyes and Mengxiang Jiang, wrapped up a final project using brain waves in the best way possible: playing Pong. Their experiment links a baseball cap full of EEG-scanning electrodes to a computer, letting the cap wearer control a paddle using Alpha or Mu waves. Depending on the waves you use, you can move the paddle either by changing your concentration level or by thinking about moving your feet. You won't rack up a high score while napping (or with a teammate narrating over your shoulder), but with a budget under $75, it's hard to find fault. You can grab the source code below, and check out a video of Jiang and Moyes' handiwork after the break.

[Thanks, Chuck and Mengxiang]

Continue reading Cornell students steer Pong using brain waves, can't quite play during naps (video)

Cornell students steer Pong using brain waves, can't quite play during naps (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 May 2012 15:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceBCI, source code (GitHub)  | Email this | Comments