OpenVibe – Part 1

Note, here is  OpenVibe – Part 2

For those with a Mindwave (EEG reader) and Windows, and are interested in OpenVibe, here are some tips.

OpenVibe is a high-end, but free open source software that works with all sorts EEG readers, from the mindwave to the sophisticated scientific EEG machines.

http://openvibe.inria.fr/discover/

OpenVibe works with a large number of acquisition devices (EEG readers), including the Mindwave.

http://openvibe.inria.fr/supported-hardware/

OpenVibe can be used for:

– real-time processing of brainwaves

– to download brainwave readings to a file

– includes 2 demo neurofeedback games

Installation

OpenVibe works on certain versions of Windows and Linux

http://openvibe.inria.fr/supported-architectures/

To download:

http://openvibe.inria.fr/downloads/

Click on “Download OpenVibe Installer for Windows XP/7 32bit”.

And then download and install.

OpenVibe Designer

Before starting to actually use OpenVibe, lets check out the OpenVibe Designer.

Click on the Windows start button, then open the OpenVibe folder, then click on “OpenVibe Designer”.

This window will pop up:

And then the OpenVibe Designer proper will load:

The OpenVibe Designer comes with a number of “Boxes”, which are premade processing algorithms. Lets have a look at a few.

Generic Stream Reader

On the top menu, click on “File” and then “Open”, where it will default to “Scenarios”, click on “box-tutorials” and then click on “generic-stream-reader.xml”, which will then load, with this result:

       

You’ll notice one of the labels says “Generic Stream Reader”, which is pre-loaded with a sample EEG reading. On the top menu, click on the “Start” button (it looks like a triangle) to see the results:

Pretty impressive. A window pops up, showing “Signal display”, which is actually the brainwave sample in action.

To stop it, click on the “Stop” button (it looks like a square). Note, even if you close the window, it will keep running until you click on the stop button. Also note there are 10 lines of signal, this is because the sample brainwaves came from a EEG machine with 10 sensors. The Mindwave has only the one sensor, so results from a Mindwave will only show one line.

Let’s try another scenario.

Hilbert Transform

Click on “File” then “Open” (note it should default directly to “Box-Tutorials”, if not, on the top menu click on “Scenarios” and then on “Box-Tutorials”), then click on hilbert-transform.xml

I have no idea what it means, but it looks pretty neat.

Power Spectral Display

Pick power-spectrum.xml

Time Frequency Map

time-frequency-map.xml