Can a Smartphone show you just how smart you really are? The Smartphone Brain Scanner developed by Jakob Eg Larsen and his colleagues at the Technical University of Denmark hopes to at least take a peek.
Although it cannot really show you intelligence quotient, it can show electro activity of the brain. The hardware consists of a head harness with probes for applying to the scalp. Wireless signals from a Emotiv 14 channel Neuroheadset (MSPR $299 USD) is sent to the N900 which then displays a virtual image of the electrical activity of the brain. The headset samples at a rate of 128Hz from 14 typical EEG cranial positions ( positions being AF3, F7, F3, FC5, T7, P7, O1, O2, P8, T8, FC6, F4, F8, AF4 for those who want to know). The system's default brings 16 samples to a 8Hz 3Dvisualization with a delay of 130-150 milliseconds.
An electroencephalography (EEG) scan is the recording of electrical activity along the scalp. Although this smart phone app is more of a novelty, there is an option for the system which would allow for sending data to a server for a more serious crunching of the data. The device is as sensitive or accurate as the much more expensive medical EEG machines, but it is a step in the right direction. For now it is isolated to the aging Nokia N900 Smartphone and associated hardware. I could see a whole new company rising to fill the need of a portable EEG device.
In the meantime, it would be fun to use at parties to watch the effects of alcohol.
Eavesdropper
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