Joel and Conor, the co-founders of OpenBCI, gave me the opportunity to spend a few weeks in the OpenBCI HQ with plenty of liberty to use whatever that is in their lab located in Brooklyn, New York City. Once I knew, as I asked to myself “Irene, for the first time in your life you have the opportunity to use an EEG headset and do with it whatever you want. So, the question here is: what do you wanna do with it?”. I must say that the answer came up quickly: motor imagery versus motor execution.
What is OpenBCI?
OpenBCI is a community of researchers, engineers, artists, scientists, designers, makers, and more with one thing in common: a willing to share an unfaltering passion for harnessing the electrical signals of the human brain and body to further understand and expand who they are. The co-founders started the project via Kickstarter by presenting the OpenBCI Headset Kit to the World in this video.
The Ultracortex Mark III is the latest working version of the OpenBCI headset. You can find all of the 3D files, links to hardware, and an assembly on their Github repo. They designed it for maximum adjustability and ease of use. In their design thinking, they prioritized the use of dry electrodes (pictured in the images above). Using dry sensors significantly reduces the time needed for setup (no more sticky paste!) and makes the overall experience of wearing the headset much more pleasant.
My idyllic OpenBCI EEG headset
Ultracortex Mark III “Supernova”. The Ultracortex is an open-source, 3D-printable headset intended to work with the OpenBCI system. It is capable of recording research-grade brain activity (EEG), muscle activity (EMG), and heart activity (ECG).
The Ultracortex Mark III is capable of sampling up to 16 channels of EEG from up to 21 different 10-20 system locations. The dark gray nodes in the image below indicate the 21 available 10-20 system positions in the “Nova” product while the light gray nodes are the extra nodes included in the “Supernova” product.
R&D Kit (16-channel) — 32bit, Daisy, & Accessories. This all-in-one comprehensive kit contains everything you need to get up and running with a 16-channel, OpenBCI biosensing suite. The OpenBCI 32bit Board and OpenBCI Daisy Module (which plugs into the OpenBCI 32bit Board) can be used to sample brain activity (EEG), muscle activity (EMG), and heart activity (EKG). The system communicates wirelessly to a computer via the OpenBCI programmable USB dongle, which is based on the RFDuino radio module.
tDCS Shield (for Direct Current Neurostimulation). tDCS is a type of neurostimulation in which a low amperage direct current is passed through the scalp from a positively charged electrode (anode) to a negatively charged electrode (cathode). Some research has claimed that tDCS can increase cognitive performance and assist in the treatment of cognitive disorders such as depression and ADHD. Other studies have reported that there is no statistically conclusive evidence that tDCS has any net cognitive effect. Despite the effects of tDCS being critically debated, it is widely accepted that tDCS—when adhering to safety protocols and done in a controlled manner—is a safe method of brain stimulation.
References
For more technical specifications, please go to the following OpenBCI pages.
- OpenBCI home page
- Ultracortex (Mark IV) EEG Headset Kit page
- R&D Kit (16-channel) — 32bit, Daisy, & Accessories page
- tDCS Shield (for Direct Current Neurostimulation) page
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