I'm becoming a cyborg, yes really...
My new project is to create a brain computer interface integration to control my computer with my brain by using an off the shelf consumer grade BCI.
In a world where futuristic tech is quickly becoming reality, brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are no longer just science fiction—they’re here, and they’re evolving fast. With a thriving open-source community and new products launching all the time, it’s the perfect time to dive into this space.
My fascination with movies like The Matrix and the idea of controlling computers with my mind has always felt like a far-off dream. But it turns out, we might be closer to this reality than I ever imagined.
Well it seems we’re in the perfect time of history to do crazy science fiction projects, and I wanted to do my own, I’ve now bought a Neurosity crown, this is a consumer level device, it’s primarily designed to help increase your focus and concentration by detecting your brainwaves and playing music and voice that helps you get into the zone and hyper relax.
The technology I’ll be using
The crown comes with:
8 EEG sensors
2 haptic motors
Accelerometers
NFC
N3 chipset
1.8 Ghz quad-core processor
400mhz co-processor
8gb of flash memory
1GB of ram
Most importantly, the specs for brain imaging are:
Reference and bias sensor locations T7 and T8
8 EEG sensor locations: CP3, C3, F5, PO3, PO4, F6, C4, CP4
Passive + active sensors
Flexible dry sensors: Silver/Silver Chloride
Ultra-low noise floor of 0.25 uVrms
256 Hz sample rate
Even more importantly, it comes with an SDK, and this is a javascript SDK that will allow me to actually subscribe to my live raw brain waves.
How the heck will I actually get this working?
The brain produces several types of brain waves, which are electrical impulses that vary in frequency and are associated with different states of mental activity and consciousness. Here’s an overview of the main types of brain waves:
Delta Waves (0.5 - 4 Hz)
These are our slowest brain waves and they’re associated with deep sleep, unconsciousness, restorative sleep. They’re commonly observed during deep sleep (non-REM sleep), and they play a key role in the body’s healing and regeneration processes.
Theta Waves (4 - 8 Hz)
Theta waves are slow, but faster than delta waves, they’re associated with light sleep, deep meditation, dreaming (REM sleep), creativity and relaxation, theta waves are also present during meditative states and when accessing deep emotions.
Alpha Waves (8 - 12 Hz)
Moderate speed, associated with being relaxed, calm, but awake state (eyes closed), light meditation, daydreaming. Alpha waves are dominant when the mind is in a state of restful alertness, often linked to reduced stress and a state of flow.
Beta Waves (12 - 30 Hz)
Faster than alpha waves and associated to active thinking, problem-solving, alertness, concentration. Beta waves are prominent during tasks that require focused attention or when you are engaged in active mental processing.
Gamma Waves (30 - 100 Hz)
Gamma waves are the fastest brain waves associated with high-level cognitive functioning, learning, problem-solving, peak mental performance and with intense focus, higher cognitive processes, and consciousness. Gamma waves are also involved in integrating information from different parts of the brain.
Gamma waves will play a crucial role, but the most accurate way to get the results I’ll be looking for is to use a combination of more than just gamma waves so that we get the most accurate and reliable control.
The most difficult aspect of this, which I’m not even sure is feasible with the crown will be the integration with AI to determine what words or phrases I am thinking.
I won’t be going into the specifics of the method I’ve devised to effectively read my thoughts about what words and phrases I’m thinking, as I feel the method I’ve come up with though hacky achieves the same end result as other methods, which end up being a lot more complicated, at the moment the method I’ve devised is still a theory, I’ll be attempting to implement it as soon as my crown arrives.
Potential applications
Advanced computer interactions could make traditional input devices like keyboards and mice obsolete by allowing users to control software through thought alone, streamlining everything from web navigation to complex tasks like 3D modeling. In assistive technology, BCIs could empower people with disabilities to interact with devices and environments hands-free, offering new levels of independence.
Incorporating BCIs into VR and AR would elevate immersion, enabling thought-based control of digital objects and movement. Cognitive training could be enhanced by real-time neurofeedback for improving focus or relaxation. For creative fields, brain-controlled tools could transform artistic expression by channeling emotions directly into music, visuals, or writing.
Additionally, BCIs could extend to mind-controlled robotics and prosthetics, offering natural movement and control for amputees or enabling remote operation in hazardous environments.
All that having been said, I’m just having a bit of fun, there is no real aim to develop this experiment into something with commercial applications, unless my results show a marked improvement in efficiency, with other BCI, however, nothing will ever come close to the latency achieved by going direct, such as with Neuralink, that having been said, the method I’ve devised to decode and infer action from brain waves would also work with any BCI including Neuralink. So let’s just see what happens, I’ll show you my results very soon.
Goals with my prototype
I have a few short term goals with this experiment.
Post a tweet on x.com straight from from my brain
Open up applications on my computer just by thinking about them in the place I want them to.
I won’t bother having more goals than these, just the first is already a lofty target, considering the work being done by much more talented people than me.
Regardless of the result, this is going to be an extremely fun experiment that I’ll be documenting and posting to my youtube channel soon.
Before I go, I just want to clarify, this is not an ad, and I am in no way affiliated with Neurosity, I’m just a software engineer with a deep interest in technology and futurology.
If you’ve found this post interesting and you’re keen to see if I got it working or not, please follow me on X and YouTube to get the latest updates.