Download MIND CONTROLLED ROBOT

MIND CONTROLLED
ROBOT
BY ADITHYA KUMAR
EIGHTH GRADE
RESEARCH
EEG – ELECTRO ENCEPHALOGRAPHY
Electroencephalography (EEG) is a monitoring method which is
used for recording electrical activity of the brain. EEG measures
voltage fluctuations resulting within the neurons of the brain.
The brain waves measured by EEG falls in the range of 1 – 20
Hz. The waves are subdivided into band widths known as alpha,
beta, theta and delta. Each of the bandwidths are emitted during
different states of mind. For e.g. Beta is emitted when the mind
is focused on something. I used this frequency to control a
robot.
EEG has been in existence since 1924. It was mostly used for
clinical purpose to record human brain activity. Research is
underway to use it for assisting or repair human cognitive or
sensory motor functions
NEUROSKY – MINDWAVE
There are several EEG devices available in the market for
measuring brain waves. The most popular among them
which is used for non-clinical use and easy to connect with
Arduino was Neurosky Mindwave EEG headset.
Mindwave’s brain-computer interface (BCI) technology works
by monitoring the tiny electrical impulses released in the brain
with a forehead sensor. The neural signals received from the
sensor is input into the ThinkGear chip which is analyzed by
their proprietary Attention and Meditation algorithms to find
out if the user is focusing or meditating. The measured
electrical signals and calculated interpretations are then
output as digital messages to the computer, toy, or mobile
device to take further actions. I used the attention readings
(focus percentage) to control a simple Robot I created.
EEG - USAGE
The EEG is used to evaluate several types of brain disorders like
epilepsy, lesions in the brain which can result from tumors or stroke,
Alzheimer's disease, certain psychoses, and a sleep disorder called
narcolepsy.
The EEG is also used to determine the overall electrical activity of the
brain to evaluate trauma, drug intoxication, or during surgical
procedures. Brain-Computer interfacing based on EEG was primarily
focused on Neuroprosthetics applications that aim at restoring
damaged hearing, sight and movement. Increasingly more alternative
applications in healthy human subjects are proposed and investigated.
In particular, monitoring of mental states and decoding of covert user
states have seen a strong rise of interest.
I read an article on how a robotic exoskeleton, controlled by capturing
brain impulses and then transmitting those impulses into movement,
will allow a paralyzed teenager in Brazil to kick the first ball of the
World Cup.