La série de test est effectué avec l'EEG du MindFlex, dont les données sont récupérées via arduino (On retrouve ici, comment le hacker).
Il ne s'agit pas d'une expérience à rigueur scientifique, mais de tests libres, qui ne cherchent pas à valider l'appareil et les interprétations admises des ondes cérébrales.
Le but recherché est de comprendre le fonctionnement du mindlfex dans différents cas de figures notamment érotiques et sexuelles, et d'essayer de chercher des corrélations entre des schémas particuliers observés et différentes tensions existentielles.
Néanmoins, à titre d'information, d'une part il est important de savoir que l'appareil n'enregistre que l'activité du lobe frontal gauche, et d'autre part, d'après l'auteur du tutoriel de hack, les données ainsi récupérées peuvent être considérées de la façon suivante :
" About the data
So what, exactly, do the numbers coming in from the NeuroSky chip mean?
The Mind Flex (but not the Froce Trainer) provide eight values representing the amount of electrical activity at different frequencies. This data is heavily filtered / amplified, so where a conventional medical-grade EEG would give you absolute voltage values for each band, NeuroSky instead gives you relative measurements which aren’t easily mapped to real-world units. A run down of the frequencies involved follows, along with a grossly oversimplified summary of the associated mental states.
* Delta (1-3Hz): sleep
* Theta (4-7Hz): relaxed, meditative
* Low Alpha (8-9Hz): eyes closed, relaxed
* High Alpha (10-12Hz)
* Low Beta (13-17Hz): alert, focused
* High Beta (18-30Hz)
* Low Gamma (31-40Hz): multi-sensory processing
* High Gamma (41-50Hz)
In addition to these power-band values, the NeuroSky chip provides a pair of proprietary, black-box data values dubbed “attention” and “mediation”. These are intended to provide an easily-grokked reduction of the brainwave data, and it’s what the Force Trainer and Mind Flex actually use to control the game state. We’re a bit skeptical of these values, since NeuroSky won’t disclose how they work, but a white paper they’ve released suggests that the values are at least statistically distinguishable from nonsense.
Here’s the company line on each value:
So what, exactly, do the numbers coming in from the NeuroSky chip mean?
The Mind Flex (but not the Froce Trainer) provide eight values representing the amount of electrical activity at different frequencies. This data is heavily filtered / amplified, so where a conventional medical-grade EEG would give you absolute voltage values for each band, NeuroSky instead gives you relative measurements which aren’t easily mapped to real-world units. A run down of the frequencies involved follows, along with a grossly oversimplified summary of the associated mental states.
* Delta (1-3Hz): sleep
* Theta (4-7Hz): relaxed, meditative
* Low Alpha (8-9Hz): eyes closed, relaxed
* High Alpha (10-12Hz)
* Low Beta (13-17Hz): alert, focused
* High Beta (18-30Hz)
* Low Gamma (31-40Hz): multi-sensory processing
* High Gamma (41-50Hz)
In addition to these power-band values, the NeuroSky chip provides a pair of proprietary, black-box data values dubbed “attention” and “mediation”. These are intended to provide an easily-grokked reduction of the brainwave data, and it’s what the Force Trainer and Mind Flex actually use to control the game state. We’re a bit skeptical of these values, since NeuroSky won’t disclose how they work, but a white paper they’ve released suggests that the values are at least statistically distinguishable from nonsense.
Here’s the company line on each value:
- Attention:
Indicates the intensity of a user’s level of mental “focus” or “attention”, such as that which occurs during intense concentration and directed (but stable) mental activity. Distractions, wandering thoughts, lack of focus, or anxiety may lower the Attention meter levels.
- Meditation:
Indicates the level of a user’s mental “calmness” or “relaxation”. Meditation is related to reduced activity by the active mental processes in the brain, and it has long been an observed effect that closing one’s eyes turns off the mental activities which process images from the eyes, so closing the eyes is often an effective method for increasing the Meditation meter level. Distractions, wandering thoughts, anxiety, agitation, and sensory stimuli may lower the Meditation meter levels.
At least that’s how it’s supposed to work. We’ve found that the degree of mental control over the signal varies from person to person. Ian Cleary, a peer of ours at ITP, used the Mind Flex in a recent project. He reports that about half of the people who tried the game were able to exercise control by consciously changing their mental state.
The most reasonable test of the device’s legitimacy would be a comparison with a medical-grade EEG. While we have not been able to test this ourselves, NeuroSky has published the results of such a comparison. Their findings suggest that the the NeuroSky chip delivers a comparable signal. Of course, NeuroSky has a significant stake in a positive outcome for this sort of test. "
At least that’s how it’s supposed to work. We’ve found that the degree of mental control over the signal varies from person to person. Ian Cleary, a peer of ours at ITP, used the Mind Flex in a recent project. He reports that about half of the people who tried the game were able to exercise control by consciously changing their mental state.
The most reasonable test of the device’s legitimacy would be a comparison with a medical-grade EEG. While we have not been able to test this ourselves, NeuroSky has published the results of such a comparison. Their findings suggest that the the NeuroSky chip delivers a comparable signal. Of course, NeuroSky has a significant stake in a positive outcome for this sort of test. "
