This weekend we held the first OpenBCI (Brain Computer Interface) hackathon at Thoughtworks. We went from Saturday morning to Sunday night working on challenges of design, community, hardware and software.

Conor Russomanno gives a crash course in EEG
Conor Russomanno gives a crash course in EEG at the hackathon

We have been working with the OpenBCI guys since they started attending our weekly Hardware Hack Lab, also out of the Thoughtworks New York office.

OpenBCI are Conor Russomanno and Joel Murphy. These guys are serious about lowering the barrier of entry to research-grade EEG. Commercial sets like Neurosky do this but tie your hands in the process. OpenBCI is about making a viable open source alternative.

Aisen Caro poses with a headcap
Aisen Caro poses with a headcap

We had four sets of caps and hardware, and over the course of the two days different volunteers wore the gear so that we could test on real people.

Here's a short video of Joel demoing the application of a cap.

There was a good buzz of excitement and energy and we would definitely host an OpenBCI hackathon again. Looking forward to the next one.