BIC device helps in producing music from brain waves

Scientists have speculated that the human brain is capable of generating as much as 10 watts of electric power. A brain computer interface (BCI) device has been developed by many researchers that reads this electrical activity from the head and, hence, allows the user to access the keyboard or mouse with their mind.

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Eduardo Miranda, who is a composer and computer-music researcher, designed the system using a brain computer interface device to create musical notes with the mind. The idea of using the BCI device in music therapy popped in his mind a decade ago and, now, he is busy implementing this idea and developing this system.

The system consists of an EEG skull cap and a screen which displays four different buttons. Each of them corresponds to a series of musical notes. The user wears the EEG cap and then is asked to focus on one of the four buttons. The EEG cap keeps a track of a unique series of impulses. These impulses are different for the four buttons. When the user concentrates on one button, a musical note is thus produced. During trials at the University of Essex on a patient with locked-in syndrome, in which the entire body, except the eyes, was paralyzed, it took about two hours to calibrate the system.

Now Miranda is planning to develop a device that is much faster and uses algorithms to play music with just a thought.

Via: SlashGear