Insight2OSC: using the brain and the body as a musical instrument with the Emotiv Insight

Constanza Levican, Andres Aparicio, Vernon Belaunde, and Rodrigo Cadiz

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

• Year: 2017
• Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
• Pages: 287–290
• DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.1176254 (Link to paper)
• PDF link

Abstract:

Brain computer interfaces are being widely adopted for music creation and interpretation, and they are becoming a truly new category of musical instruments. Indeed, Miranda has coined the term Brain-computer Musical Interface (BCMI) to refer to this category. There are no "plug-n-play" solutions for a BCMI, these kinds of tools usually require the setup and implementation of particular software configurations, customized for each EEG device. The Emotiv Insight is a low-cost EEG apparatus that outputs several kinds of data, such as EEG rhythms or facial expressions, from the user's brain activity. We have developed a BCMI, in the form of a freely available middle-ware, using the Emotiv Insight for EEG input and signal processing. The obtained data, via blue-tooth is broad-casted over the network formatted for the OSC protocol. Using this software, we tested the device's adequacy as a BCMI by using the provided data in order to control different sound synthesis algorithms in MaxMSP. We conclude that the Emotiv Insight is an interesting choice for a BCMI due to its low-cost and ease of use, but we also question its reliability and robustness.

Citation:

BibTeX Entry:

  @inproceedings{clevican2017,
 abstract = {Brain computer interfaces are being widely adopted for music creation and interpretation, and they are becoming a truly new category of musical instruments. Indeed, Miranda has coined the term Brain-computer Musical Interface (BCMI) to refer to this category. There are no "plug-n-play" solutions for a BCMI, these kinds of tools usually require the setup and implementation of particular software configurations, customized for each EEG device. The Emotiv Insight is a low-cost EEG apparatus that outputs several kinds of data, such as EEG rhythms or facial expressions, from the user's brain activity. We have developed a BCMI, in the form of a freely available middle-ware, using the Emotiv Insight for EEG input and signal processing. The obtained data, via blue-tooth is broad-casted over the network formatted for the OSC protocol. Using this software, we tested the device's adequacy as a BCMI by using the provided data in order to control different sound synthesis algorithms in MaxMSP. We conclude that the Emotiv Insight is an interesting choice for a BCMI due to its low-cost and ease of use, but we also question its reliability and robustness.},
 address = {Copenhagen, Denmark},
 author = {Constanza Levican and Andres Aparicio and Vernon Belaunde and Rodrigo Cadiz},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.5281/zenodo.1176254},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 pages = {287--290},
 publisher = {Aalborg University Copenhagen},
 title = {Insight2OSC: using the brain and the body as a musical instrument with the Emotiv Insight},
 url = {http://www.nime.org/proceedings/2017/nime2017_paper0055.pdf},
 year = {2017}
}