[Noisebridge-discuss] brain-controlled robotics project
Steve Castellotti
sc at puzzlebox.info
Thu Nov 11 13:14:07 UTC 2010
Hey all--
I just wanted to send a quick word of introduction to the group.
My name is Steve. I swung over this past Tuesday evening along with
the Make:SF crew, and hung around the next several hours meeting a fair
few of you.
I've been managing an Open Source project for the past year which
is geared towards teaching kids (ages 10+ or so) a little bit of
neuroscience, helping them build robots out of LEGO Mindstorms, then
control and race them with their brains using consumer-grade EEG headsets.
Here is a brief demonstration video:
http://brainstorms.puzzlebox.info/index.php?entry=entry100923-100000
And here is the project website:
http://brainstorms.puzzlebox.info
The current version of the software measures attention and
relaxation levels using a NeuroSky MindSet, translating those into
acceleration levels sent to the robots. Basic support for the Emotiv
EPOC is also available, although for classroom use I've been leaning
towards the former as it has dry sensors (where kids are concerned, wet
+ heads = bad) and is easy to put on and start using without much
fiddling about.
There's a variety of paradigms for controlling the robots and
several new types of "games" planned on the roadmap, but for the moment
the software is working and in active use in at least one classroom on
the East coast (Incidentally I am looking for more local schools which
might be interested to get involved). The focus is now on building up
case studies and fleshing out the teaching materials to better integrate
into existing curriculum.
Last night I brought round the remote control for a small RC
helicopter, and with a great deal of help from Milo, Anthony, John, and
a few others we managed to almost completely reverse-engineer the
circuit board and transmitter's communications protocol. I'd like to
extend a huge thanks to those guys for sticking around past 2 AM to help
bang it all out!
I'm planning to bring in my gear on Monday for the electronics
hacking session. I'll have the NeuroSky and Emotiv headsets, my LEGO
kit, and the RC helicopter (assuming I can managed to transport it all)
and would be happy to show anyone interested how it all hangs together.
With any luck I will already be on my way to getting the RC helicopter
to fly via the software. The intention is to pick up a second helicopter
and be able to have races in which two people compete to achieve and
maintain high enough levels of focus to keep the helicopters in the air
and be first to cross the finish line.
Thanks again for everyone's help and looking forward to catching up
with folks come Monday.
Cheers
Steve
--
Steve Castellotti
Puzzlebox Limited
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