User Guide October 22, 2009
Brainwave Visualizer
Introduction
e Brainwave Visualizer is a colorful, interactive application controlled by your brain, that shows
you a graphical representation of your brain’s activity. e Brainwave Visualizer includes the Brainwave
Visualization, Brainwave Power Spectrum Graph, and the eSense Attention and Meditation meters.
e on-screen shapes morph and change color depending on your state of mind. Because each person
has a unique brain wave pro le, no two visualizations will ever be the same.
Minimum System Requirements
PC Mac
Operating system Windows XP/Vista Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard
Processor Intel Core 2 Duo or equivalent
Video card DirectX 9.0+ graphics card (ATI Radeon 8500 or better)
RAM 1GB memory
HDD 100MB hard disk space
Bluetooth Bundled USB dongle or built-in receiver
Installing
PC
Run the provided Brainwave Visualizer Setup.exe installer. You may be prompted several times
as part of Windows' security checks; simply continue through these. After these security checks, the
installer will run. From there, just follow the instructions displayed on the screen.
Section 3 – Installing
Figure 1: Start of the installer
Mac
Double-click on the provided Brainwave Visualizer Advanced.zip le to unzip it, then drag
and drop Brainwave Visualizer Advanced into your Applications.
Figure 2: Mac installer
Mac 2
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Section 5 – Starting the Brainwave Visualizer
Starting the Brainwave Visualizer
To start the Visualizer, double-click the Brainwave Visualizer application icon on your Desktop
(for Windows), or in your Applications (for Mac). e Visualizer will start up in a window and
automatically attempt to connect to your headset, displaying the Launch screen while doing so.
Figure 3: Launch screen
If the connection attempt is successful, then you should see the Welcome screen.
Figure 4: Welcome screen
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Section 5 – Configuring the Brainwave Visualizer
Configuring the Brainwave Visualizer
On startup, the Brainwave Visualizer will automatically try to connect to the headset. If this is unsuc-
cessful, then a con guration panel will appear. You can also bring up this panel by pressing the Esc
key on the keyboard.
Figure 5: Con guration panel
Here, you can manually specify the port name as well as various other con guration options. You
can also enable demo mode, which lets you run the Visualizer without a headset using randomly-
generated data. On the Mac, you can determine your serial port name by following the instructions
given in Appendix A: Mac Serial Port Name.
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Section 5 – Configuring the Brainwave Visualizer
Configuration Options
NeuroSky Headset
Label Description
Status is describes the status of the MindSet head-
set. e status is Connected if the headset is
connected to the computer and the application
is communicating successfully with the headset.
e status is Disconnected if the headset is dis-
connected from the computer.
Port is option tells the application which serial
port to look for the headset on.
Scan ports is option enables or disables the port-
scanning function when a connection attempt
is made.
Enable demo mode is option turns on demo mode, which lets
the Visualizer operate without the headset (us-
ing randomly-generated data).
Visualizer
Label Description
Show axes is option enables or disables the display of the
radial axes shown in the dynamic visualizer.
Enable full screen mode is option turns on full-screen mode, which
causes the Visualizer to occupy your entire
screen.
Configuration Options 5
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Section 6 – Interface
Interface
e Visualizer contains several interface elements that are common to the different views built in.
Figure 6: Interface overview
Name Description
View selector is lets you select between the available views. e selector only
1 appears when you move the mouse cursor. It disappears if the
keyboard and mouse have been idle for long enough.
Signal status is tells you the quality of the brainwave signal coming from
2 the headset. A red X means that the headset is disconnected.
e more bars there are, the better the signal quality. Generally,
a status with four or ve signal bars indicates a good signal.
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Section 7 – Views
Views
e functions of the different views are explained in the sections below.
Chart View
e rst view you see when you start up the Visualizer is the Chart View, which consists of the
Dynamic Brainwave Visualization, the iTunes Media Bar, the Brainwave Power Spectrum Graph, and
the eSense™ Attention and Meditation meters. e Chart View provides a comprehensive display of
all the data coming from your headset.
Figure 7: Chart view
Note: e Chart View contains an interactive help feature. Click on each of the various components
to bring up an informative description of that component, along with voice narration.
Dynamic View
e Dynamic View of the Visualizer emphasizes the gently owing shape of the dynamic visualizer
component. You can use the left and right arrow keys to change the look and characteristic of this
shape.
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Section 8 – Views
Figure 8: Dynamic view
Note: Try playing some music while running the Visualizer in this mode. You may see some unique
shapes and colors that are generated by actively listening to a particular track!
Game View
e Game View of the Visualizer lets you play a simple telekinetic game that utilizes eSense™ values
from the headset. You can hold down and drag the right mouse button to change the perspective
of the camera. Buttons on the left side of the screen let you choose between eSense™ Attention and
Meditation. e data shown in the top-left portion of the screen helps you keep track of various game
statistics. e bar at the bottom tells you your current level of Attention or Meditation.
Figure 9: Game view
Game View 8
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Section 8 – Brainwave Recording and Playback
Brainwave Recording and Playback
Important: is feature requires iTunes 9 or newer. You can download it here.
e Brainwave Visualizer contains functionality to perform recording and playback of brainwave data
that is associated with music in your iTunes library.
Interface
ere are three primary elements that are associated with brainwave recording and playback.
Figure 10: Brainwave recording and playback interface elements
Name Description
Status noti cation Shows the current state of the playback and recording functionality.
1
Popup message win- Shows brief noti cations and error messages.
2 dow
Media Bar Shows song information, and controls playback and recording func-
3 tionality.
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Section 8 – Brainwave Recording and Playback
Recording
To record brainwave data for a song, start playing a song in iTunes, then click on the red "record"
button in the Media Bar. iTunes will automatically skip to the beginning of the track, and the Brain-
wave Visualizer will start recording data. e status noti cation will also indicate that recording is in
progress.
Important: e raw output line is hidden while recording is in progress. is is because raw data is
not recorded.
When the song nishes playing, the brainwave data will be automatically saved. You can now play
back the recorded brainwave data.
Note: If recording is stopped by the user in the middle of a song by clicking the red "stop" button,
the brainwave data will not be saved.
Playback
To play back recorded brainwave data, start playing a song in iTunes and click on the "play" button
in the Media Bar. iTunes will automatically skip to the beginning of the track, and the Brainwave
Visualizer will start playing back the recorded brainwave data. e status noti cation will indicate
that playback is in progress.
Note: If no recorded brainwave data is available for a particular track, the "play" button will be
dimmed and unclickable.
Recording 10
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Section 10 – Appendix A: Mac Serial Port Name
Troubleshooting
Where is the recorded brainwave data stored?
e storage location depends on your platform:
Platform Location
Windows XP C:\Documents and Settings\<your username>\Local Set-
tings\Application Data\NeuroSky\Brainwave Visualizer
Windows Vista / 7 C:\Users\<your username>\AppData\NeuroSky\Brainwave Vi-
sualizer
OS X /Users/<your username>/Library/Application Support/Neu-
roSky/Brainwave Visualizer
e data is stored in an XML format, making it easy to read and parse the saved data.
e application doesn't connect to the headset.
Make sure your headset is turned on and paired to the computer. If you are on Windows, make sure
that the Port scan option is enabled when connecting to the headset. On the Mac, be sure that you
have the correct serial port name by following the instructions in Appendix A: Mac Serial Port Name.
If the headset still refuses to connect, un-pair the device, restart the computer, then re-pair the device
before attempting to run the application.
e signal quality status is consistently poor (fewer than three bars).
e ear contacts should be resting directly on your ear and the forehead sensor should be on your
forehead. Also, check that the sensors and contacts are making good contact with the skin. Make sure
to remove all obstructions including hair and jewelry.
It usually takes three or four seconds for the headset to validate the signal after holding still. Also make
certain to keep the sensor and contacts clean
I don't seem to be able to control the eSense™ meters.
Like exercising an unfamiliar muscle, it may take some time to gain full pro ciency with the eSense™
meters. First, be sure you understand how the eSense meters work and what they are measuring.
Generally, we recommend engaging Attention by concentrating and Meditation by relaxing. Most
importantly, be sure you have read the detailed explanation of eSense previously described in the
eSense™ sections.
I have a problem that is not covered by this troubleshooting section.
Read the MindSet Manual for troubleshooting tips. If the manual doesn't address your question,
register on the NeuroSky Support Forums at http://support.neurosky.com to access additional infor-
mation.
Appendix A: Mac Serial Port Name
Since the Mac doesn't use numbered serial ports, users must determine manually which port the
MindSet connects to. Once you've completed the pairing procedure, load up the System Preferences,
and click on the Bluetooth icon. Select the MindSet in the list of devices, then click on the gear icon
underneath. en, click on the Edit Serial Ports… menu option.
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Section 10 – Appendix A: Mac Serial Port Name
Figure 11: Edit Serial Ports…
Simply copy the text listed next to the Path label. is is the MindSet's serial port. Paste this text back
into the Port eld of the Visualizer.
Figure 12: Retriving the port name
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October 22, 2009 | © 2009 NeuroSky, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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125 S. Market St., Ste. 900
San Jose, CA 95113
United States
http://support.neurosky.com
Information in this document is subject to change with-
out notice.
Reproduction in any manner whatsoever without the writ-
ten permission of NeuroSky Inc. is strictly forbidden.
Trademarks used in this text: eSense™, inkGear™, Mind-
Kit™, NeuroBoy™and NeuroSky™are trademarks of NeuroSky,
Inc.
Disclaimer: e information in this document is provided
in connection with NeuroSky products. No license, express
or implied, by estoppels or otherwise, to any intellectual
property rights is granted by this document or in connec-
tion with the sale of NeuroSky products. NeuroSky assumes
no liability whatsoever and disclaims any express, implied
or statutory warranty relating to its products including,
but not limited to, the implied warranty of merchantabil-
ity, tness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement.
In no even shall NeuroSky be liable for any direct, indi-
rect, consequential, punitive, special or incidental damages
(including, without limitation, damages for loss of prof-
its, business interruption, or loss of information) arising
out of the use of inability to use this document, even
if NeuroSky has been advised of the possibility of such
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with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents
of this document and reserves the right to make changes to
speci cations and product descriptions at any time with-
out notice. NeuroSky does not make any commitment
to update the information contained herein. NeuroSky’s
products are not intended, authorized, or warranted for
use as components in applications intended to support or
sustain life.
