Last Updated on January 19, 2022 by pg@petergamma.org
OpenBCI is currently limited to 18 channels. An option to solve this problem is to add MQTT to Harrison Kinsleys OpenBCI Python live stream example:
No WIFI shield for MQTT necessary, multiple OpenBCI boards can be integrated over the Home Assistant software via MQTT, sensor data can be streamed into the InfluxDB over the InfluxDB plugin of Home Assisant and sensor data can be visualized in Grafana with the Home Assistant Grafana plugin.
To optain more than 8 or 16 channel EEG with open BCI boards, sensor data from multiple OpenBCI boards can be integrated with InfluxDB, and combined with sensor data from other sensor devices as for instance heart rate, respiratory rate, etc. Sensor data can be read out by the InfluxDB client for Matlab or Python, and processed further with Matlab, Python, BCILAB or EEGLAB.
There are a set of great EEG caps available, which can be used for instance for practicing meditation or for meditation resarch:
There are several caps wich support for instance 32 EEG sensors, and hardware and software costs for such a 32 channel setup are around 2000 – 3000 USD. Adding MQTT to Harrison Kinsley software would reduce dependancy of 3th. party hard and software. No WIFI shield necessary for this path, the OpenBCI WIFI shield is currently unavailable from OpenBCI anyway.
There are several options available now for such a 32 channel setup, some of them are experimental or not developed. It is important to find a community of developers which tests these devices and publishes the results. And it is also important to review the different options, to find the optimal setup for each individual.
edited 18:99
The OpenBCI WIFI shield which supports MQTT is currently not available from OpenBCI
«The wifi shield hardware revision is currently paused due to ongoing time obligations but we have not shelved the plan to bring it back into the shop. Any updates will be announced via the OpenBCI monthly newsletter.»
https://openbci.com/forum/index.php?p=/discussion/comment/16344#Comment_16344
OpenBCI Cyton with ODROID XU-4 , Python and MQTT?
The authors of this paper:
edited 25.6.2021 12:12
did not use an OpenBCI with shield with MQTT support either, but rather an OpenBCI Cyton board with a bluetooth usb dongle and an ODROID XU-4 with Python and MQTT.
Connect Harrison Kinsleys OpenBCI Python live stream example to the InfluxDB client for Python?
Alternative path to integrate sensor data from several EEG boards.
The OpenBCI WiFi shield is in beta mode
“IMPORTANT NOTE: This product is in beta mode. The WiFi shield is known to have reliability issues (packet loss and cyclical noise spikes) when used with Cyton and CytonDaisy boards. Using it effectively requires advanced technical skills and programming knowledge. Please proceed at your own risk. OpenBCI cannot guarantee that the device will work with your configuration.”
https://docs.openbci.com/docs/01GettingStarted/01-Boards/WiFiGS
reliability issues of the OpenBCI WIFI shield:
WiFi Shield packet loss:
https://github.com/OpenBCI/OpenBCI_WIFI/issues/82
WiFi shield packet loss causes cyclical noise spikes:
https://github.com/OpenBCI/OpenBCI_GUI/issues/231
added 25.6.2021
Communities for the Muse Headband and OpenBCI boards
Community can do more than individuals. The Muse seem to work now with the Rasperri PI 3b and LSL:
alexandrebarachant/muse-lsl#140
thanks to the community, which has managed to get this to work. Me personally, the OpenBCI Cyton board seems to be an interesting alternative to the Muse. OpenBCI already has LSL support, and it also has MQTT support over the WIFI shield. Unfortunately, the WIFI shield is currently not available from OpenBCI, and it is not clear, when the new version comes out. Furthermore, there are issues with the WIFI shield, such as WiFi shield packet loss and cyclical noise spikes. Nevertheless if OpenBCI MQTT works without issues sooner or later, this path becomes interesting in combination with Home Assistant and InfluxDB. Home Assistant already has 1800 integrations, and I suppose more and more physiological sensors will be available in Home Assistant. There is already Home Assistant support for Garmin watches for certain parameters. OpenBCI LSL is stable, and I guess OpenBCI MQTT sooner or later too. These options are a good ground for community projects.
added 27.6.2021
19.1.22
William Croft from OpenBCI commented to the topic Influx Database and OpenBCI:
“The ‘external trigger’ approach will STILL not work. ALL CHANNELS need to sample at exactly the same moment in time. Otherwise many metrics such as phase, coherence, P300 sample averaging, etc., are meaningless.”