Comparison of consumer brain–computer interfaces

This is a comparison of brain-computer interface devices available on the consumer market.

Comparison

Device	Price (USD)	Electrodes	ADC bits	Sensors Interpret:	Peripheral	SDK	Released	Producer	Interface	Notes
Aurora Dream Headband	$199[1]	1	8	frontal EEG/EOG sensor, open SDK, embedded 4-stage sleep tracking, 2 LEDs near the eyes	Yes	Yes	July 2015	iwinks	Bluetooth Low Energy / USB / SD Card	Consumer Sleep Device
Melon Headband	$149	4	?	L+R hemisphere prefrontal EEG		Yes	Nov 2014	Melon	Bluetooth Low Energy	A headband and mobile app to measure focus
iFocusBand	$500[2]	1	?	8 mental states, facial tension, eye movement & quiet eye [3]	Yes	Yes	October 2014	iFocusBand	Bluetooth	Soft woven sensors, audio feedback.
MindWave	$99.95 [4]	1[5]	12	2 mental states (based on 4 brainwaves), eyeblinks[6]	Yes	Yes[7][8]	21 March 2011; 5 years ago	NeuroSky
Mindflex (Uses NeuroSky chips)	$50 [9]	1[10]	12	1 mental state	No	No	21 December 2009; 6 years ago	Mattel (Neurosky partner[10]
Emotiv EPOC+	$799 [11]	14[12]	16	3 mental states (based on brainwaves), 13 conscious thoughts, facial expressions, head movements (sensed by 2 gyros)[13]	Yes	Yes[14][15]	21 December 2009; 6 years ago	Emotiv
Emotiv Insight	$299 [16]	5[17]	14		Yes	Yes	August 2015; 15 months ago	Emotiv	Bluetooth 4.0 LE.[17]
Star Wars Force Trainer (based on NeuroSky chips)	$45 [18]	1 [10]	12	1 mental state	No	No	21 June 2009; 7 years ago	Uncle Milton (Neurosky partner[10]		Discontinued
MindSet	$199 [19]	1[20]	12	2 mental states (based on 4 brainwaves), eyeblinks[6]	Yes	Yes[21]	March 2007; 9 years ago	NeuroSky
Mindball	$20,000 [22]	1[23]	?	1 mental state	No	No	21 March 2003; 13 years ago	Interactive Productline
XWave headset (uses NeuroSky chips)	$90 [24]	1	12	8 EEG bands	Yes	Yes	5 January 2011; 5 years ago (Windows and iOS apps available now, Android app available soon[25])	PLX Devices	Bluetooth	Designed to look like a normal sports headband, no longer available
XWave Sonic (uses NeuroSky chips)	$100 [26]	1	12	?	?	?	iOS apps available now	PLX Devices	Bluetooth	Discontinued
MyndPlay BrainBand (Uses NeuroSky chips [27])	$158[28]	1	12	8 EEG bands	Yes	Yes	1 December 2011; 5 years ago	MyndPlay	Bluetooth	Soft headband, uses conductive gel for ear-clip
Muse	$250[29]	4	16	7 sensors; 5 front (2 active, 2 DRL, 1 reference), 2 active behind ears [30]	?	Yes	Shipped April 2014	InteraXon	Bluetooth	Comes with brain training app designed to reduce stress and improve focus.[31]
OpenBCI Ganglion Board	$99[32]	4	24	EEG, EMG, EKG, and accelerometer data	Yes	Yes	Funded via Kickstarter in late 2015. Slated to by shipped to backers in Summer 2016.	OpenBCI	Bluetooth 4.0	Compatible with all existing OpenBCI gear and accessories. A tDCS shield can also be added to this device to perform DIY neurostimulation.
OpenBCI 32bit Board	$499[33]	8	24	EEG, EMG, EKG, and accelerometer data	Yes	Yes	Shipped to general public Dec 2014	OpenBCI	Bluetooth 4.0	Open hardware project. OpenBCI originated under a DARPA solicitation and then became a company after being funded on Kickstarter. While a tDCS shield Kickstarter was run, recent OpenBCI newsletters confirm they will not be made due to safety concerns.
OpenBCI R&D Kit	$899[34]	16	24	EEG, EMG, EKG, and accelerometer data	Yes	Yes	Shipped to general public Dec 2014	OpenBCI	Bluetooth 4.0	Open hardware project. The 16-channel R&D setup consists of a 32bit Board and an 8-channel extension shield, known as the "Daisy" board.

Open-source projects

Emokit is an open-source Python library for reading out sensor data from the EPOC (Emotiv Systems) by Cody Brocious. It was built by reverse-engineering the encrypted protocol.^[35] Emokit has been deprecated in favour of emokit.^[36]

In 2011 Make magazine published an article on hacking NeuroSky headsets. In 2012 Hack a Day published an article on modifying NeuroSky headsets for sleep and dream research.

Open-source Matlab toolboxes such as EEGLAB, Fieldtrip, and the Neurophysiological Biomarker Toolbox (NBT) can be used to process data from the electroencephalography. The Fieldtrip toolbox also offers a real-time plugin.^[37]

OpenVibe is a LGPL software platform (C++) to design, test and use BCI.^[38] The software comes with an acquisition server that is currently compatible with many EEG device including Neurosky Mindset, Emotiv EPOC (Research Edition or above) and OpenEEG. The software is developed at INRIA.

Several open-source computer programs are also available from EPFL's CNBI project.^[39][40]

The openEEG project^[41] has developed several open hardware EEG devices.

OpenBCI ^[42] ran a successful Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign in January, 2014, and shipped its open-hardware signal acquisition boards to the public (and released its open-source software) in December. They then completed a second successful Kickstarter campaign in December of 2015 to fund the development of the next version of their 3D-printable EEG headset, a $99 signal acquisition board, and a tDCS that will be compatible with all of their existing biosensing boards.

Technology

All of the devices listed use electroencephalography except the Neural Impulse Actuator which only uses electromyography. Some use both electroencephalography and electromyography, such as the BrainBand MindWave, EPOC, and MindSet.

The OpenBCI board can acquire electroencephalography (EEG, electrical activity of the brain), electromyography (EMG, electrical activity of skeletal muscles), and electrocardiography (ECG or EKG, electrical activity of the heart) data.

References

1. "iwinks one the web". iwinks.
2. "What is the retail cost?". iFocusBand.
3. "How many sensors does the iFocusBand have?".
4. "MindWave Store". Store.neurosky.com. Retrieved 2012-11-01.
5. "MindWave". Store.neurosky.com. Retrieved 2012-11-01.
6. "NeuroSky Technology". Company.neurosky.com. Retrieved 2012-11-01.
7. "NeuroSky Do It Yourself". Neurosky.com. Retrieved 2012-11-01.
8. NeuroSky Developers open source SDK
9. "Google Products MindFlex". Google.com. Retrieved 2012-11-01.
10. "Neurosky Partners". Neurosky.com. Retrieved 2012-11-01.
11. "Buy Epoc". Emotiv.com. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
12. "Emotiv headset". Emotiv.com. Retrieved 2012-11-01.
13. "Emotive Official Website". Emotiv.com. Retrieved 2012-11-01.
14. "Emotiv SDK". Emotiv.com. Retrieved 2012-11-01.
15. Emokit open source SDK
16. "Insight Detail". Emotiv.com. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
17. "Emotiv Insight product sheet" (PDF).
18. "Google Products Force Trainer". Google.com. Retrieved 2012-11-01.
19. "NeuroSky Mindset". Store.neurosky.com. Retrieved 2012-11-01.
20. "NeuroSky MindSet". Neurosky.com. Retrieved 2012-11-01.
21. "NeuroSky Developer". Developer.neurosky.com. Retrieved 2012-11-01.
22. Weigel, David. "Bowling With Brain Waves". Slate.com. Retrieved 2012-11-01.
23. "Mindball Accessories". Mindball.se. Retrieved 2012-11-01.
24. "Products | PLX Devices Inc - USA". Plxwave.com. Retrieved 2012-11-01.
25. "Products | PLX Devices Inc - USA". Plxwave.com. Retrieved 2012-11-01.
26. "Products | PLX Devices Inc - USA". Plxwave.com. Retrieved 2012-11-01.
27. "MyndPlay Ltd".
28. "MyndPlay Ltd".
29. "Product listing page". Interaxon.
30. "How many sensors does the Muse have?".
31. "MUSE ™ - Meditation Made Easy". Muse: the brain sensing headband.
32. "OpenBCI 16-channel R&D Kit". OpenBCI Online Store.
33. "OpenBCI 32bit Board Kit". OpenBCI Online Store.
34. "OpenBCI 16-channel R&D Kit". OpenBCI Online Store.
35. Python library for the Emotiv EPOC headset on Github
36. daeken/Emokit has been deprecated in favour of qdot/emokit on GitHub
37. "development:realtime – FieldTrip". 6 May 2015.
38. "OpenViBE - Software for Brain Computer Interfaces and Real Time Neurosciences".
39. "Software - CNBI". 30 September 2015.
40. "Nissan teams up with EPFL for BMI-assisted driving - KurzweilAI".
41. "OpenEEG project".
42. "OpenBCI".

External links

• Porting Digital Memory, H+ Magazine, 25 May 2010