See Inside Your Head
A Project Utilizing Mobile EEG for Custom Brain Visualization and City Mapping
 
Brainwaves taken from NeuroSky Mindset
A sample EEG brainscan
 
Brainwaves taken from NeuroSky Mindset
Mobile EEG System.
"See Inside Your Head" is an arts project based on bio-casting - using your own brainwaves to arrive at a deeper understanding of yourself and your environment. This project is entirely funded by you, through the infrastructure Kickstarter.com, an innovative funding source for public arts. Please join our mailing list so that we can notify you when the project is available for participation.
 
Interested in seeing inside your own head? Join the mailing list and we'll let you know when the project is open for participation.

This project is funded solely through the micro-funding site Kickstarter.com. Kickstarter is a "new way to fund creative ideas and ambitious endeavors" and "is powered by a unique all-or-nothing funding method where projects must be fully-funded or no money changes hands."
 
Using commercial EEG brain-wave monitoring equipment, this project will allow individuals to see inside their own heads - and discover how they compare to others in such areas as creativity, focus, intelligence and their ability to induce states of attention and relaxation on command (bio-feedback). Using commercial grade EEG measurement equipment and custom software written for mobile phones, participants will "log" their brain activity. We encourage participants to walk around and explore their city and the places they love, logging the whole time. After a few days, they will send the equipment and data back and receive a full brain report that visualizes and explaines the brainwave data, as well as a guide on how to interpret the data and comparing it to various norms. The guide will also include maps that relate the participant's cognitive experience with the corresponding environment - all based on geo-tagging of the brainwave data. The effect will be an educational experience on what we can learn from EEG and how spaces, people, thoughts and other stimuli affect and inform your mental life.
 

Media


 
Video featuring Brain Wave visualization in Processing, an open source visualization software.

The Bio-Casting Team


Toru Hasegawa has worked as an architect in New York City and Tokyo. Since founding Proxy in 2006, Toru has worked to explore spatial potentials within the computational paradigm. Toru is also an adjunct faculty member at the Columbia University GSAPP, where he co-directs the GSAPP Cloud Lab, a research-based laboratory that explores the design of our environment through emerging technologies in computing, interface and device culture.
  • Contact Toru at toru @ proxyarch . com
Bob Johnston is founder and director of the Ecological Computation Lab, a multidisciplinary think tank that uses parallel computing to uncover novel and effective physical design solutions. Bob holds a Master's degree in Architecture from the Columbia University GSAPP and is a licensed architect in the state of New York. He has worked extensively with software development for mining collective intelligence, interactive data visualization and evolutionary computation.
  • Contact Bob at hello @ ecocomputationlab . com
Mark Collins has worked as an architect in New York City and Atlanta. Since founding Proxy in 2006, Mark has focused on innovative applications of computing in architecture. Mark is an adjunct faculty member at the Columbia University GSAPP here he co-directs The Cloud Lab, a laboratory that explores the design of our environment through emerging technologies in computing, interface and device culture.

Project FAQ

What is this project?

"See Inside Your Head" is an arts project that puts sophisticated neurological research tools into your hands to let you visualize whats actually going on inside your own head. The project lets you experience a very cool technology (mobile EEG and Brain-Computer-Interfaces) as well as gain access to a personalized educational tool to learn about brain science. Each participant gets an interesting peak into their own head and the experience of measuring their own brain activity right on their iPhone (or PC/Mac).
 

How can I support this project and what do I get in return?

We are working with Kickstarter.com, an innovative funding source for art projects, to allow individuals to fund the project as well as receive the benefits. When the project is online, we will post a link here so that you can get on board. All funders will get to experience mobile EEG brain scanning and receive a custom brain report based on the gathered data. Additionally, other rewards will be made available, including a metal desktop sculpture of your actual brain waves.
 

What is a brain report?

A brain report will include visualizations of your actual brain waves, as well as information about what these different waves mean and how they compare to other norms. Additionally, your report will tell you how you performed in different settings and across different sessions, and give clues to what spaces and times are most stimulating for creativity, problem solving, attention and meditation. We will be posting a sample brain report soon, stay tuned!
 

What are brain waves and how does EEG work?

The firing of neurons in your brain creates a measurable electrical potential. Electroencephalography (EEG) equipment can detect this potential, which is then represented as a wave - hence the term brain-wave. This wave can be decomposed into several bands ("Alpha", "Gamma", "Theta") which are linked to particular functions and mental states.
 

Is this mind-reading? Do you know what I'm thinking?

EEG does not allow you to see actual thoughts. Instead, it allows you to look at mental activity that corresponds to mental states - for instance attention, sleep or motor control.
 

What is a Brain-Computer-Interface?

Brain Computer Interface (or BCI) is a fascinating approach to bridge the divide between humans and machines. By looking at brain-waves through EEG or fMRI, sophisticated algorithms can learn to control or actuate a program or other mechanical device by looking at a users mental processes. A key component of any BCI is the discovery and integration of a neurological signal - this is what the EEG equipment gives us access to.
 

What can you learn from my brain-waves?

Our software continually monitors your brain waves and stores the raw information into a simple text file. After isolating the different bands during a recording session, we can compare the activity in different parts of the spectrum and make judgments about your changing mental state over the logging session. Activity in certain bands are linked to qualitative modes of thought such as creative thinking, intelligence and stress. These are all integrated into the brain report we provide you.
 

What will happen to my data? Will it be kept private?

Yes, your data will be kept private. Your data is transferred over an encrypted connection and will never be shared or used for any other purpose (aside from generating your brain report) unless you explicitly tell us otherwise. We believe that each individual should own his or her own data. Along with your brain report, we will provide you with a raw copy of your data if you request it. Your data will not be kept on file unless you explicitly ask us to.
 

Will my brain-scan reveal any medical conditions or issues?

EEG can be used to detect certain medical conditions such as epilepsy. However, the limited capabilities of the equipment we are using and the manner in which we are collecting the data makes it impossible to actually determine any medical issue. The purpose of this project is to experience a new compelling technology (BCI) and we make no claims to be able to diagnose or treat any medical condition.
 

Are you neuro-scientists or doctors?

No! We are architects and artists who happen to like interesting new technologies.
 

Do you work for NeuroSky?

No. We use NeuroSky equipment because it is simple, non-invasive, inexpensive and oriented towards commerical use.