OpenBCI

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Developer	OpenBCI
Image
Optics
Sensors	???

OpenBCI is a company that made an EEG sensing board that captures brain signal into digital data. It targets researchers, makers, and hobbyist all over the world.

The OpenBCI Cyton has undergone a few revision and retailed at $399 per unit. Along the line, OpenBCI also launched two major products, namely UltraCortex Mark IV ($349.99), an EEG headset and OpenBCI Ganglion, an affordable 4 channel sensing board at $99 per unit.

Features[edit]

Open BCI has the ability to provide biosensing monitoring with low cost hardware.

Hardware[edit]

The Cyton biosensing board is the primary data acquisition board for the OpenBCI platform. It’s powered by the PIC32 microcontroller and featured 8 channels of biodata input. Open BCI Cyton has a 24-bit resolution ADC chip with a 16kHz sample rate. It also supports wireless communication for data transfer. It can be connected to PC through a USB to serial FTDI chip.

Open BCI has also released the Ganglion board, a scaled down cheaper version with 4 biosensing channel. It uses Simplebee as both the microcontroller and wireless module. The Simplebee an advanced RF module and is comparably cheaper than the RFDuino in the Cyton board. It also enables over-the-air programming.

The UltraCortex “Mark IV” is a 3D printable headset that comes in 3 sizes (42-50cm, 42-58cm, 58-65 cm) according to the head circumference. It is able to support up to 35 electrode location and is built for comfort. As it is produced from a 3D printer, you can also have the option to print it out and assemble for a cheaper cost.

Technical Specifications[edit]

Cyton Board Specs:[edit]

Power with 3-6V DC Battery ONLY
PIC32MX250F128B Micrcontroller with chipKIT UDB32-MX2-DIP bootloader
ADS1299 Analog Front End
LIS3DH 3 axis Accelerometer
RFduino BLE radio
Micro SD card slot
Voltage Regulation (3V3, +2.5V, -2.5V)
Board Dimensions 2.41” x 2.41” (octogon has 1” edges)
Mount holes are 1/16” ID, 0.8” x 2.166” on center

Ganglion Board Specs[edit]

Power with 3.3V to 12V DC battery ONLY

Current Draw: 14mA when idle, 15mA connected and streaming data
Simblee BLE Radio module (Arduino Compatible)
MCP3912 Analog Front End
LIS2DH 3 axis Axellerometer
MicroSD Card Slot
Board Dimensions 2.41” x 2.41” (octogon has 1” edges)
Mount holes are 1/16” ID, 0.8” x 2.166” on center

Software[edit]

The following third party software could be used for research and data analysis of the readings gathered from OpenBCI system.

Matlab
MNE-Python
Neuromore
Open Vibe

Developers who wished to build upon the open platform of OpenBCI can do so with the following SDK

Processing (Java)
Javascript(Node.js)
Arduino
Python

The company also provides the OpenBCI GUI software meant for data processing, graphs, and visualization. The software is available for FREE for Windows, Linux, and Mac although users are encouraged to pledge a donation.

The firmware for the Cyton and Ganglion board are also available for download if you wished to modify the original code.

Apps[edit]

AlphaWave is a mobile app developed by the company to demonstrate the basic capability of the OpenBCI system. It is available for Android and iOS user.

Developer[edit]

OpenBCI provides an active platforms for developers, http://openbci.com/index.php/forum/

It’s community page features up to date posts, members and has a special start-a-challenge section. http://openbci.com/community/

Accessories[edit]

Variety of accessories could be purchased from the company’s online store.

Gold Cup Electrodes
Conductive Paste
Header Pin to Touch Proof Electrode Adapter
EMG/ECG Snap Electrode Cables
EMG/ECG Foam Solid Gel Electrodes
MyoWare Muscle Sensor
Pulse Sensor (Heart-Rate Monitor)
CSR 4.0 Bluetooth Dongle

Background[edit]

OpenBCI was founded by Joel Murphy and Connor Russomano after a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2014. The objective was to create affordable, high-quality EEG biosensing hardware for people of all background.

History[edit]

2014 - OpenBCI founded, OpenBCI 32 Bit Board was launched. 2016 - Ganglion and UltraCortex Mark IV shipped.

References[edit]