DIY Brainwave Monitoring Nick Carter 1/9/16 None of this information endorses the safety or applicability of the included or referenced designs for any purpose or that they are safe to use when connected to a human body. ANYONE USING THESE DESIGNS DOES SO AT THEIR OWN RISK This warning is appropriate. http://openeeg.sourceforge.net/doc/WARNING.html

Looking at Reading Your Own Brainwaves? Build or Buy? None of these are guaranteed safe to use and in some cases you even are advised against connecting them to your body – especially whan any connected equipment is connected to AC supply! None pass standards for medical use or safety. Open EEG says this compliance would add cost of about $8000. You can totally build your own Cheap but messy – I have seen one that uses guitar picks for sensors even. You can use Open EEG’s design and technology ~ $200 one channel Uses 1 or more wet electrodes – cost multiplies – lots of info here You can use OpenBCI design and technology $100 (basic board) to $900 full R&D kit It has 16 channels for EEG, ECG, EMG, EKG - you can 3D print the headset You can buy a Neurosky EEG setup~ $99 (actually not bad) Mindwave and Mindwave Mobile (Bluetooth) Games Support to interface to Arduino, PC, iOS, Android Free research tools http://store.neurosky.com/products/mindset-research-tools You can buy a MindFlex Mattel/Neurosky toy and hack it. < $25 + maybe $10 other parts And you can still likely use the free research tools (but I have not tried it) This is a bit more work and you might destroy the equipment (have to connect to SMT TGAM board) HC-06 Bluetooth modules for Arduino are $1.60! Neurosky make a range of toys where players can use their brain activity to control activities on the toy like operating a fan to move foam balls. The toys, marketed by Mattel e.g. (MindFlex) use a single sensor headset and proprietary amplifier and filtering board that Neurosky embeds in their headsets and also sells separately to developers together with a development tool suite. On the Internet there are several people that published how they have hacked into the headsets to get the filtered and the raw data. I have used their implementations to see the Headset data and they work Headsets are available on the Internet for < $25 and are not difficult to modify http://openeeg.sourceforge.net/doc/index.html https://youtu.be/agV1B2l-QLw

What can you do with it? Maybe not as much as you would like Interpretation is difficult – but there is a lot of info out there You can see electrical brain activity Neurosky module provides filtered output frequency levels Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta averages FrontierNerds has SW to display these (Arduino and PC) Raw Data with more modification and work (SW or HW) Matlab can display the output (costs $$) Maybe you can write your own or find an app on Internet. You can play the games if you buy MindWave/MindFlex You can sense - Attention/Focus, Relaxation/Calmness MindWave/MindFlex provides/uses these output levels Otherwise you have to do the math probably (FFTs expected) You can use these values to control things – but reaction time is not fast

Frontier Nerds Hack PC using their Processing App. Bar Graph Values of Serial/USB cable Parsed based on Neurosky mindset communications protocol Samples move this way at 1/Sec Bar Graph Values of Current Sample http://arduinoz.blogspot.com/search/label/eeg%20arduino%20mindflex http://developer.neurosky.com/docs/doku.php?id=mindset_data_types http://developer.neurosky.com/docs/doku.php?id=thinkgear_communications_protocol

The Neurosky TGAM board ThinkGear Access Module? Features Uses dry rather than medical wet electrodes Filters for Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta wave frequencies Processed for “Attention” , “Meditation” outputs used in toys Outputs at ~ once a Sec. Measures raw brainwave signal, at 512 bits/Sec in non-default mode Interfaces using serial data packets on a bidirectional Interface Tx/Rx lines at 0-3.3V Standard mode (used in toy ) is 9600 Bd Raw Data mode (requires a board modification or SW) is 57600 Bd Both modes give summary filtered data Neurosky pdf file at http://www.seeedstudio.com/document/pdf/TGAM%20Datasheet.pdf 10K GND B0 VCC (3.3V) 57600 9600 Bd Bd Rx Data I added these here Tx data Vcc Ground Connect B1 and VCC together for 57600 Bd Source TGAM Product pdf

Modified Headset1 Tx and Ground wires added for Arduino Tx/Gnd default data http://www.davidgouveia.net/2014/06/converting-the-mindflex-into-an-open-source-wireless-eeg-tool/ Tx (blue) Rx Blue/stripe and Ground (black) and VCC (white) wires added for Bluetooth HC-06 Also strap B1 to VCC (red) for 57600 Bd For Raw Data feed + default data Frontier Nerd wired up

Modified Headset2 Connections TGAM Rx TGAM Tx Gnd Vcc* TestPoint B1* *Wired to switch For 57600 Bd selection

Interpretation?? Filtered Frequencies Delta (1-3Hz): sleep Theta (4-7Hz): relaxed, meditative Low Alpha (8-9Hz): eyes closed, relaxed High Alpha (10-12Hz) Low Beta (13-17Hz): alert, focused High Beta (18-30Hz) Low Gamma (31-40Hz): multi-sensory processing High Gamma (41-50Hz Proprietary filters for Attention and Meditation You will need to look at these and correlate them to activity. Note that only 1 sensor is used

Neurosky Proprietary Indicators (Used in Toys) Attention: Indicates the intensity of a user’s level of mental “focus” or “attention”, such as that which occurs during intense concentration and directed (but stable) mental activity. Distractions, wandering thoughts, lack of focus, or anxiety may lower the Attention meter levels. Meditation: Indicates the level of a user’s mental “calmness” or “relaxation”. Meditation is related to reduced activity by the active mental processes in the brain, and it has long been an observed effect that closing one’s eyes turns off the mental activities which process images from the eyes, so closing the eyes is often an effective method for increasing the Meditation meter level. Distractions, wandering thoughts, anxiety, agitation, and sensory stimuli may lower the Meditation meter levels.

Other Things “Blink Strength Indicator” According to the documentation, some version of the Neurosky product produces this. - It needs to specially enabled. Not sure how. It is based on an artifact and there is info how to find this in software from raw samples. (Muscle voltage spikes over brain waves.) Discussion and info on blink detection http://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?topic=149603.0 http://gmc.yoyogames.com/index.php?showtopic=511665 This is the referenced code for blink detection https://www.pantechsolutions.net/eye-blink-control-led-using-arduino Design Despite only one sensor, and a reference earclip the design is very good, and uses proper technique for good common mode rejection as shown here : http://www.ti.com/lit/an/sbaa188/sbaa188.pdf Bio Sensor Kickstarter http://www.openbci.com/ EEG things to do – Shark robot and more…. http://eeghacker.blogspot.com/ http://www.wired.com/2015/11/watch-these-guys-make-a-shark-swim-with-their-minds/ http://www.dfrobot.com/index.php?route=DFblog/blog&id=419

Connect MindFlex over Bluetooth Make your own using HC-05/06 module http://www.instructables.com/id/Mindflex-EEG-with-raw-data-over-Bluetooth/?ALLSTEPS Depending on implementation the TGAM can be programmed to go to 57600 Bd over the serial port or Bluetooth by a cheat to simulate the instructions at 9600 Bd (default rate) if you do not implement it in Hardware. (headset mod.) There are also instructions on Internet for putting the BT inside the headset but it is very tight. Discussion and info on blink detection http://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?topic=149603.0 http://gmc.yoyogames.com/index.php?showtopic=511665 This is the referenced code for blink detection https://www.pantechsolutions.net/eye-blink-control-led-using-arduino Design for muscle electrical activity pickup http://www.advancertechnologies.com/p/myoware.html DIY Electromyography http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Electromyography/step5/null/ EEG Robot Car Control ?? http://www.dfrobot.com/index.php?route=DFblog/blog&id=419 http://www.gdiy.com/projects/mindflex-eeg-with-raw-data-over-bluetooth https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/hackers-in-residence---hacking-mindwave-mobile Mindwave Mobile also does eyeblinks it seems

Measuring Intensity of Concentration Brain activity measurement is updated in the graph once every second and flows right to left. Measuring Intensity of Concentration Measuring Level of Brain Calmness (Meditation) Measuring SpecificTypes of Brain waves