Design of a platform for the development of neuro tracers and neural interfaces for controlling mobile robotics based on public domain software and hardware.
A platform for developing neuro tracers and neural interfaces for controlling mobile robotics based on public domain software and hardware, including a device for capturing the brain signal (neuro headset), software for signal processing and software for controlling the robot.
The project aims at solving the problem of the lack of simple tools with high reliability of the results obtained for the study of neurocommunications.
It was necessary to develop a comprehensive modular solution that would offer not just a standard neurointerface, but a neuro-educational platform focused on the practical application and development of children; its main features are:
The developed software and hardware should be published under a free license, which will allow schoolchildren, students and developers to understand the device in detail and create their own gadgets based on this educational kit.
At this stage of the R&D, a neuro headset has been developed that allows to receive brain activity signals (EEG), which can be used to generate control actions on external devices, including a robotic platform.
That is, it was found that a possible option of spreading the capture function for the neuro headset being developed is controlling the level of alpha waves, which increases significantly if the system user is in a relaxed state with the eyes closed.
Also, the developed software-hardware complex allows determining the orientation of the user’s head from the data of the gyroscope and accelerometer located on the microcircuit of the neuro headset: that is, the system determines the rotation and angle of the head of the person on which it is located. Based on such data, a control action for changing the speed or direction of movement can be generated for the robot.
The developed software-hardware complex is intended for organizing robotics control with the help of a neuro-interface, developing its own neurotracers and neurointerfaces on the basis of this complex, as well as for creating neurotracers for increasing the brain’s ability to concentrate, switch attention, etc.
The primary cost of the developed neuro headset is significantly lower than for similar solutions (under 8,000 rubles). Publishing it under a public domain license will allow users to understand this device in detail and create their own based on this educational kit.
Documentation and source code
At stage 1, a prototype of a neuro headset was developed, in which the Neurosky MindWave device was used as the case with silver chloride electrodes and no integrated hardware platform.
In this prototype, the device uses one active frontal electrode, which is the contact. On the board of this electrode, a preliminary low-noise amplifier (with a gain of 24) with active noise suppression circuits is installed. The electrode connections to the amplifier board are made with an unshielded cable. It has been verified that electromagnetic interference is suppressed by the integrated circuits of the active amplifier.
The prototype of the neuro headset had the following composition:
For data visualization and preprocessing, fast Fourier transforms were used, which were fed to the input every second and presented as a frequency card (spectrogram); a low-pass bandpass filter was also applied, which cuts frequencies outside the range from 0.5 to 40 Hz.
The filtering of the EEG signal was adjusted in the specialized BrainBay software.
The filtering of signals for determining the position of the head was adjusted using the Majdvik filter.
The figures below show examples of EEG spectrograms, when the system user of is in various states along with visual displays of the EEG during the transitions to these states.
During the experiment, the following relationships with human activities were identified:
At this stage of the R&D implementation, the following tasks were performed:
Robotic platform control program based on signals received from a neuro-headset. Certificate of registration of a computer program. Frolov P.A., Grafov D.I., Kazakov D.V. Reg. No .: 2020610363. Date of registration: 19.12.2019. Copyright holder: Linux-format LLC.
