Extend Your Mind

Abstract

With over one-hundred and seventy-one million Virtual Reality (VR) users, there is a large market for all things VR that will continue to grow and prosper. Following this, people have always dreamed of the ability to control things with their mind, but the technology has always been slow to develop. Every now and then you may hear of some new product that attempts to incorporate Brain Computer Interface (BCI), but it never seems to go anywhere. We at Project Synapse aim to further the development of BCI by creating an adapter that can seamlessly connect to a VR headset, so that you can use your mind to give commands that normally require a physical movement. The potential for this project is huge, with millions waiting for it to come to fruition, and one day everyone may be able to extend their mind.


[1] www.statista.com

Mission Statement

For Virtual Reality (VR) gamers who are unsatisfied with the current control mechanisms, Project Synapse is an accessible new system of interaction that uses the power of the brain to interact with VR environments. Unlike other VR control mechanisms, Project Synapse aims to make everything about the VR experience as hands-free as possible.

Current Update (Update 4.1)

  • Reformatted code to accept our live data parameters (Group)

  • Established connection between BCI headset and Unity (Group)

  • Began testing to create a smoother experience (Group)

Update History

Update 4.0-4.1

  • Setting up BCI headset to stream data into a compiler for processing (Group)

  • Research into how to port the data into various compilers to convert BCI data into control data (Group)

  • Initial experimentation with streaming data to MATLAB (Anthony)

  • Initial experimentation with streaming data to Python (Anthony)

  • Attempting to send processed data into Unity using Python (Anthony)

Update 3.2.4-4.0

  • Hardware has been received! (Group)

  • Helmet has been assembled (Group)

  • Board firmware has been set up (Anthony)

  • Initial testing of helmet/board (Group)

Update 3.2.3-3.2.4

  • Finalized financing decisions (Group)

  • Began Software Testing in Preparation for Hardware (Group)

  • Resumed screening Project Phase I for transferrable info (Jeriel)

  • Began fixing 'About Us' page (Group)

  • Purchased Hardware for testing (Department)

Update 3.2.2-3.2.3

  • Added Mission Statement (David)

  • Added in a section for our IDE 401 work (Anthony)

  • Put our first assignment from IDE 401 into the new IDE 401 section (Anthony)

  • Designed a Concept for the Block Diagram (Jeriel)Added in section for Project Charter (Anthony)

  • Added in Section for Patent Searching and Analysis (Anthony)

  • Updated Milestone 2 (Group)

  • Updated Project Charter (Group)

Update 3.2-3.2.1

  • Started drafting a stakeholders chart to categorize the various possible stakeholders in the venture (Jeriel and David)

  • Added a section and shared a google sheet for milestone 2 (Anthony)

  • Looked into the OpenBCI software and how things are to be set up (Anthony)

  • Added onto The Project Information Section about the potential hardware to be used (Anthony)

  • Group talk as to what hardware we plan to get for our project (Group)

  • Updated the About Us page to a better format and began filling in information (Anthony)

  • Added in a short description of what BCI is and how it works (Anthony)

Update 3.1

  • Added a draft abstract to the front page (Anthony)

  • Removed excess from the website to focus in on the goal of Project Synapse (Anthony)

  • Changed navigation bar to add new pages and remove old ones, also fixed the link to GitHub (Anthony)

  • Added the Milestones page and Included a link to the shared Google Sheet document (Anthony)

  • Reformatted Navigation to accommodate the new page layout (Jeriel)

Update 3.0

  • Archived Design Stage I Site (Jeriel)

  • Expanded Group to Accommodate Project Requirements (Jeriel)

  • Redirected GitHub Link

  • Updated Navigation on all Pages

Update 2.0

  • Began Reformatting for Project Focus

    • Renamed Weekly Updates to Progress

    • Renamed Project Exercises to Project Stage 1

    • Removed Project Labs (and associated Pages)

    • Removed Contributions

    • Added Project Stage 2

    • Added About Us

Update 1.4 (Design Stage I)

  • Edited the Weekly Updates Page

  • Edited the Project Exercises Page

  • Edited the Project Labs Page

  • Added and Edited the KT Decision Matrix Subpage

  • Added and Edited the KT Evaluation Matrix Subpage

  • Added and Edited the Lab Photos Subpage

  • Edited the Interesting Topics Page

Update 1.3.0-1.3.3

  • Renamed 'Project Updates' to 'Project Exercises'

  • Edited the Project Exercises Page

  • Added and Edited the KT Analysis Subpage

  • Added and Edited the Morphological Chart Subpage

  • Added and Edited the Project Labs Page

  • Edited the Contributions Page

  • Updated Navigation Tabs on all pages

Update 1.2.0-1.2.1

  • Filled in Weekly Update and Project Update for the week

  • Added the Contributions Page

  • Added in placeholders for contribution descriptions

  • Updated Navigation tabs on all pages

Update 1.1.0-1.1.1

  • Filled in Weekly Update and Project Update for the week

Update 1.0

  • Started the Update System

  • Added GitHub Link

  • Added and Edited the Weekly Updates Page

  • Added and Edited the Project Updates Page

  • Formatted the Navigation System

Update 0.0

  • Created Website

  • Formatted URL

  • Edited Headers

  • Added Stevens Honor Pledge