NeuroSky MW1, MW2 Users Manual
MindWave Instruction Manual
September 10, 2010
e NeuroSky product families consist of hardware and
software components for simple integration of this biosensor
technology into consumer and industrial end-applications.
All products are designed and manufactured to meet consumer
thresholds for quality, pricing, and feature sets. NeuroSky
sets itself apart by providing building block component
solutions that offer friendly synergies with related and complementary technological solutions.
NO WARRANTIES:THENEUROSKY PRODUCT FAMILIES
AND RELATED DOCUMENTATION IS PROVIDED "AS
IS" WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY
OF ANY KIND INCLUDING WARRANTIESOF MERCHANTABILITY,NONINFRINGEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY,
INCLUDING PATENTS,COPYRIGHTS OR OTHERWISE,
OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO
EVENT SHALL NEUROSKY OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE
FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER(INCLUDING,WITHOUT
LIMITATION,DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, BUSINESS
INTERRUPTION, COST OF REPLACEMENT GOODS OR
LOSS OF OR DAMAGE TO INFORMATION)ARISING OUT
OF THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE NEUROSKY
PRODUCTS OR DOCUMENTATION PROVIDED, EVEN
IF NEUROSKY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. , SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS
MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU BECAUSE SOME JURISDICTIONS PROHIBIT THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION
OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL
DAMAGES.
USAGE OF THE NEUROSKY PRODUCTS IS SUBJECT
OF AN END-USER LICENSE AGREEMENT.
Contents
Introduction to the MindWave 4
MindWave Product Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
NeuroSky Technology Overview 5
Brainwaves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
inkGear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
eSense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
eSense Meter - General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
eSense Meter - Technical Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
ATTENTION eSense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
MEDITATION eSense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Setting Up Your MindWave 8
Minimum System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Replacing e Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Wireless Adapter Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Wireless Adapter Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Serial Port Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
RF Connection Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Using Your MindWave 13
Fitting the MindWave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Software Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Windows XP/Vista . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Brainwave Visualizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
e Adventures of NeuroBoy BCI Technology Demonstration . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Additional Products 16
MindSet Development Tools (MDT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
MindSet Research Tools (MRT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Maintenance 17
Troubleshooting and Support 18
Safety and Regulations 19
Operating Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
ISO/IEC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
FCC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
NCC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
September 10, 2010 | © 2009 NeuroSky, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3
Chapter 1
Introduction to the MindWave
ank you for purchasing NeuroSky's MindWave™. is Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) device
turns your brainwaves into actions, unlocking new worlds of interactivity. e MindWave reports
the wearer’s mental state in the form of NeuroSky's proprietary Attention and Meditation eSense™
algorithms, along with raw wave and information about the brainwave frequency bands. e NeuroSky MindWave can be used with supported video games, research software, or a number of other
applications for an enhanced user experience.
For any technical information updates and additional support questions not answered by this document, please register at the NeuroSky support website at http://support.neurosky.com. We also rec-
ommend you join our email list by lling out the form on http://www.neurosky.com to receive general
information about NeuroSky, new products announcements, and any technical information updates.
MindWave Product Contents
• MindWave headset
• MindWave Quick Start Guide (printed)
• MindWave USB adapter
• MindWave BCI Demonstration Software CD, containing:
– MindWave Installation Software
– PDF documents:
* MindWave Instruction Manual
* MindWave Quick Start Guide
• 1 - AAA battery
September 10, 2010 | © 2009 NeuroSky, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
4
Chapter 2
NeuroSky Technology Overview
Brainwaves
e last century of neuroscience research has greatly increased our knowledge about the brain and
particularly, the electrical signals emitted by neurons ring in the brain. e patterns and frequencies
of these electrical signals can be measured by placing a sensor on the scalp. e Mind line of headset
products contain NeuroSky inkGear™ technology, which measures the analog electrical signals,
commonly referred to as brainwaves, and processes them into digital signals to make the measurements
available to games and applications. e table below gives a general synopsis of some of the commonlyrecognized frequencies that tend to be generated by different types of activity in the brain:
Brainwave Type Frequency range Mental states and conditions
Delta 0.1Hz to 3Hz Deep, dreamless sleep, non-REM sleep, unconscious
eta 4Hz to 7Hz Intuitive, creative, recall, fantasy, imaginary, dream
Alpha 8Hz to 12Hz Relaxed, but not drowsy, tranquil, conscious
Low Beta 12Hz to 15Hz Formerly SMR, relaxed yet focused, integrated
Midrange Beta 16Hz to 20Hz inking, aware of self & surroundings
High Beta 21Hz to 30Hz Alertness, agitation
ThinkGear
inkGear is the technology inside every NeuroSky product or partner product that enables a device
to interface with the wearers’ brainwaves. It includes the sensor that touches the forehead, the contact
and reference points located in the ear clip, and the on-board chip that processes all of the data. Both
the raw brainwaves and the eSense Meters (Attention and Meditation) are calculated on the inkGear
chip.
eSense
eSense™ is a NeuroSky's proprietary algorithm for characterizing mental states. To calculate eSense,
the NeuroSky inkGear technology amplies the raw brainwave signal and removes the ambient
noise and muscle movement. e eSense algorithm is then applied to the remaining signal, resulting
in the interpreted eSense meter values. Please note that eSense meter values do not describe an exact
number, but instead describe ranges of activity.
September 10, 2010 | © 2009 NeuroSky, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
5
Chapter 2 – NeuroSky Technology Overview
eSense Meter - General Information
e eSense meters are a way to show how effectively the user is engaging Attention (similar to concentration) or Meditation (similar to relaxation).
Like exercising an unfamiliar muscle, it may take some time to gain full prociency with each of the
eSense™ meters. In many cases, people tend to be better at one eSense than the other when they
rst begin. We recommend trying different tactics until you are successful with one. Once you see
a reaction on the screen from your efforts, you will be able to duplicate the action more easily with
additional practice.
Generally, Attention can be controlled through a visual focus. Focus on a singular idea. Try to “funnel”
your concentration and focus your train of thought towards pushing up the meter. Other suggestions
include picking a point on the screen to stare at or imagining the action you are trying to accomplish
happening. For example, look at the Attention eSense meter and imagine the dial moving towards
higher numbers.
For Meditation, it typically helps to try to relax yourself. Connect to a sense of peace and calm by
clearing your mind of thoughts and distractions. If you are having difficulty engaging Meditation, close
your eyes, wait a number of seconds, and then open your eyes to see how the meter has responded.
If you have trouble at rst in controlling your eSense meter levels, be patient. Try different techniques
and practice. Also be sure to read and try to understand the Technical Description in order to get a
better idea about how eSense actually works under the hood.
eSense Meter - Technical Description
For each different type of eSense (i.e. Attention, Meditation), the meter value is reported on a relative
eSense scale of 1 to 100. On this scale, a value between 40 to 60 at any given moment in time is considered “neutral” and is similar in notion to “baselines” that are established in conventional brainwave
measurement techniques (though the method for determining a inkGear baseline is proprietary and
may differ from conventional brainwaves).
A value from 60 to 80 is considered “slightly elevated”, and may be interpreted as levels tending to
be higher than normal (levels of Attention or Meditation that may be higher than normal for a given
person). Values from 80 to 100 are considered “elevated”, meaning they are strongly indicative of
heightened levels of that eSense.
Similarly, on the other end of the scale, a value between 20 to 40 indicates “reduced” levels of the
eSense, while a value between 1 to 20 indicates “strongly lowered” levels of the eSense. ese levels
may indicate states of distraction, agitation, or abnormality, according to the opposite of each eSense.
e reason for the somewhat wide ranges for each interpretation is that some parts of the eSense
algorithm are dynamically learning and at times employ some “slow-adaptive” algorithms to adjust
to natural uctuations and trends of each user, accounting for and compensating for the fact that
brainwaves in the human brain are subject to normal ranges of variance and uctuation. is is part
of the reason why inkGear sensors are able to operate on a wide range of individuals under an
extremely wide range of personal and environmental conditions, while still giving good accuracy and
reliability.
eSense Meter - General Information
September 10, 2010 | © 2009 NeuroSky, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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