(08-05-2013, 01:18 PM)customer Wrote:I would like to know some informations about the software Puzzlebox Brainstorm. Actually, I am doing a project and it is about a mind controlled mobility scooter.
I have read an article about Brain Controlled Wheelchair on instructables.com and they use the Emotiv EPOC to control 4 directions for the electric wheelchair. I use the NeuroSky MindWave and the Myndplay BrainBand as EEG headset. It seems that with Puzzlebox Brainstorms, you can only control forward with the Neurosky headset with the eSense Meters: Meditation and Attention).
I also use the Mindset Research Tools (for visualizing the raw EEG data and export into CSV file) so I would like to know if it is possible to control the 4 directions with the Neurosky headset and the Puzzlebox Brainstorms like import the csv file on Puzzlebox Brainstorms and assign it into a direction.
Thanks for writing.
The short answer is you are restricted to the quantity, sensitivity, and placement of electrodes over the brain. Different forms of brain activity are associated with different locations, and that dictates which signals we can detect and use for control.
The original
article on Instructables.com you reference can be found at this link. We were co-authors of the project.
The NeuroSky MindWave is a single-sensor
EEG, covering an area of the pre-frontal cortex referred to as FP1.
The headband uses an EEG chip from NeuroSky called "ThinkGear"
(information link).
The Myndplay Brainband uses the same chipset, and although it does feature two sensors still only covers the same general area of the pre-frontal cortex.
The chipset includes baked-in
"eSense" algorithms which measure levels of "Attention" and "Meditation." In neuroscience terms, these measurements are commonly associated with brainwaves occurring in the
Beta and
Alpha spectrum, respectively. Note that these algorithms are non-exclusive, meaning same same single EEG signal can be applied to both metrics at the same time.
This means, unless one is writing their own algorithms, based on research and scientific principles related to what we know about the region of the brain which is covered (in the case, the pre-frontal cortex), those are the only two metrics available. This is why we only control devices in a single direction when using NeuroSky's hardware.
If on the other hand all you want to do is be able to change which direction you are driving, you will find support for the "Blink" algorithm which uses
EMG (not EEG) to switch between directional inputs. So in other words, you can use attention as a throttle (speed) control - the more focused the faster your scooter drivers, with 1-2 blinks as a brake and 3 blinks in a row to cycle between forward, left, and right.
Next, regards CSV data collect we recommend
Puzzlebox Synapse which will interface directly with the EEG headset. Puzzlebox Brainstorms can either communicate with Synapse or NeuroSky's own ThinkGear socket service (included on their installation CD) to receive measurements in real time and allow you to record data files.
And finally, you might find our most recent
Puzzlebox Robotics project relevant to your work. We are using
BCI2000 (which will also talk to NeuroSky devices) as the core of our platform.
Please let us know if we can help further.
Cheers
