Categories
Brain Computer Interface devices gadgets webinar

Connecting Delphi to my Brain with the Emotiv EPOC

Emotiv EPOC NeuroheadsetThe Emotiv EPOC might seem more Sci-Fi than practical technology. It is designed to pick up on brain waves through its 14 brain wave sensors (plus 2 reference receivers) and convert them into a usable signal for your computer. For head tracking it also includes a head mounted gyroscope.

The sensor input comes in 4 different categories:

  • Head rotation: The gyroscope returns acceleration information about the movement of your head.
  • Facial Expressions: Referred to as the Expressiv Suite, it processes the signals to detect facial expressions in real time. This includes winks, smiles, and eye movement.
  • Emotions: The Affectiv Suite provides real time emotional feedback including frustration, distraction, etc.
  • Direct Thought Control: The Cognitiv Suite lets you define trained brain patterns that you associate with different outcomes. When you repeat the brain pattern the system responds appropriately.

If you want to play with the Emotiv EPOC it is $500 for the developer set. The normal consumer set only works with official licensed software. It comes with a nice control panel that lets you play with the different inputs.

Thanks to the work of Simon J. Stuart (aka LaKraven) the SDK has a full Delphi translation. I have a short demo using the gyroscope. The brain access systems were giving me a handshake error, but that may be a commentary on my brain power.

My next objective is to unlock the brain interface and combine that with the Parrot AR.Drone api so I can fly the quadricopter with my mind.

That was part of the 11 demos in our Devices and Gadgets webinar. You can access the full replay on demand, which includes access to most all the drivers, wrappers, apis and source code. The only missing source code is to Allen Bauer‘s bluetooth infrared velocity screen system. He’ll have a blog post about that one.