MIND CONTROLLED ROBOT BY ADITHYA KUMAR EIGHTH GRADE

RESEARCH Electroencephalography (EEG) is a monitoring method which is used for recording electrical activity of the brain. EEG measures voltage fluctuations resulting within the neurons of the brain. The brain waves measured by EEG falls in the range of 1 – 20 Hz. The waves are subdivided into band widths known as alpha, beta, theta and delta. Each of the bandwidths are emitted during different states of mind. For e.g. Beta is emitted when the mind is focused on something. I used this frequency to control a robot. EEG has been in existence since It was mostly used for clinical purpose to record human brain activity. Research is underway to use it for assisting or repair human cognitive or sensory motor functions EEG – ELECTRO ENCEPHALOGRAPHY

There are several EEG devices available in the market for measuring brain waves. The most popular among them which is used for non-clinical use and easy to connect with Arduino was Neurosky Mindwave EEG headset. Mindwave’s brain-computer interface (BCI) technology works by monitoring the tiny electrical impulses released in the brain with a forehead sensor. The neural signals received from the sensor is input into the ThinkGear chip which is analyzed by their proprietary Attention and Meditation algorithms to find out if the user is focusing or meditating. The measured electrical signals and calculated interpretations are then output as digital messages to the computer, toy, or mobile device to take further actions. I used the attention readings (focus percentage) to control a simple Robot I created. NEUROSKY – MINDWAVE

The EEG is used to evaluate several types of brain disorders like epilepsy, lesions in the brain which can result from tumors or stroke, Alzheimer's disease, certain psychoses, and a sleep disorder called narcolepsy. The EEG is also used to determine the overall electrical activity of the brain to evaluate trauma, drug intoxication, or during surgical procedures. Brain-Computer interfacing based on EEG was primarily focused on Neuroprosthetics applications that aim at restoring damaged hearing, sight and movement. Increasingly more alternative applications in healthy human subjects are proposed and investigated. In particular, monitoring of mental states and decoding of covert user states have seen a strong rise of interest. I read an article on how a robotic exoskeleton, controlled by capturing brain impulses and then transmitting those impulses into movement, will allow a paralyzed teenager in Brazil to kick the first ball of the World Cup. EEG - USAGE