Artist and engineer Joel Murphy and his former student Conor Russomanno developed a working prototype when DARPA funded research into a brain-computer interface. In order to make the software and hardware cheap and accessible, they decided to further enhance the device. The duo launched a successful crowdfunding campaign in 2014 and ultimately created the Ultracortex, a $399 3D-printed electroencephalogram (EEG) headset, and the Ganglion, a $99 circuit board. While the electrodes in the Ultracortex track your body’s electrical signals, the Ganglion passes on the signals to your computer. This lets you to control a mechanical device with your brain waves. OpenBCI is envisioned as a DIY (Do-It-Yourself) device. Russomanno says, “We want it to essentially be a Lego kit that you get in the mail, which also just happens to be a brain-computer interface.” It could be used to control computers or mechanical devices with facial movement or brain waves, or just to watch one’s own brain action. The products are available for preorder on the OpenBCI website. And because both hardware and software are open-source, you can 3D-print your own headset. Source: Popular Science
