My Waveform Generator arrived!

Today I only have 45mins to make progress. And I'm going to draft a plan for Nami: A Brain Activity Monitor.

It's okay if the draft and final output is not great. I need a starting point to iterate on.

My first goal? Display a focus-level reading in real-time.

More specifically...

• Show a focus-level reading from 0 - 100%

• Connect to and stream data from an OpenBCI Ganglion

• Instruct on how to connect to their OpenBCI Ganglion

What about connection quality? What about reading-level accuracy? Documentation? Replication?

Good questions. I'll tackle those later. For now, I want to focus (haha) on building out the UI and logic to achieve this goal.

My tools will be...

• OpenBCI Biosensing Starter Bundle

• FP1, FP2 sensors and EEG ear clips

• NextJS app using the Web Bluetooth API

• Cursor & Claude Sonnet 3.5-3.7

I found this great video from 2019 by retiutut on YouTube demonstrating exactly what I want to build. retiutut connected an Arduino to his OpenBCI and programmed a fan to turn on when he's in a state of focus.

This is exactly what I want to achieve. All the dropdowns and configurations and "smoothening" of the data stream using the OpenBCI UI is complicated and intimidating. It might be perfect for neuroscientists, but not for non-scientists like me!

I want to build the heart rate monitor for brain activity. For example, the Apple Watch heart rate monitor is beautifully simple and easy to read and understand.

I'd love to build something as simple as the Apple Watch heart rate monitor, but for emotions.

I noticed retiutut's Ganglion has a white case and hanging from his neck. That's a great idea. I often find myself weaving my arms through the cables and the Ganglion flying around as I try not to move. Good initial idea! But for the future? Bluetooth sensors PLEASE.

Also... why is the 10-20 system made up of discreet electrode placements?

Why can't we create a device that measures the continuous output across the scalp surface? That way, we have a "brain map" and can track changes in electrical activity across the map rather than discreet chunks of the scalp area.

Would I have to be perfectly shaven to get good quality signals from such scalp-area-map-sensor? Does hair distort or reduce the quality of the electrical signals emitted by the brain? How far do these electrical signals travel?

I also read up a little bit more about the electrical frequency ranges emitted by the brain. It seems like the frequencies range from 0.5 - 100 Hz. A set of frequency ranges have been labeled and associated with specific kinds of brain activity. Here's what I read:

• Delta (0.5 - 4 Hz): Deep sleep and unconsciousness

• Theta (4 - 8 Hz): Drowsiness, meditation, light sleep, creativity, and deep relaxation.

• Alpha (8 - 13 Hz): Relaxed, calm wakefulness (eyes closed)

• Beta (13 - 30 Hz): Focused, active thinking, problem-solving

• Gamma (30 - 100+ Hz): Peak concentration and higher cognitive functioning

How do these frequencies vary across scalp areas? Which combination / duration of these frequencies (or other frequencies!) can be mapped to specific emotional states? Why is the Gamma range so ample? What are "higher cognitive functions"???

I charged my Apple Watch just to see the Heart Monitor app. It's beautiful.

The main screen shows: "Current, 64BPM, 69BPM 1m ago" + 3D animation of a beating heart
The 2nd screen shows a daily range: "Range, 62-82BPM, Today" + graph of daily heart range

The 3rd screen shows the resting daily heart rate: "Resting Rate, --BPM, Today" + graph of daily resting heart rate

The 4th screens shows the walking average heart rate: "Walking Average, --BPM, Today" + graph of daily walking average heart rate.

I love these screens. No computations. No configurations. Just opinionated, informative screens that give an overall picture of heart activity.

Nice! Each screen in the Apple Watch Heart Monitor app has an "i" button that shows an informative overlay when tapped. For example: "About Walking Heart Rate Average: Your walking heart rate is the average heart beats per minute measured by your Apple Watch during walks at a steady pace throughout the day. Like resting heart rate, a lower walking heart rate may indicate better heart health and cardiovascular fitness. Walking regularly has many health benefits, and you may see your walking heart rate lower over time by staying active, managing your weight, and reducing everyday stress."