Publication Date

Spring 2018

Degree Type

Master's Project

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Computer Science

Abstract

Most experiments conducted in the early 1900s with Electroencephalography (EEG) [10] devices explored mental illness of the participants. Historically, EEG has had specific applications to diagnose sleep disorder, epilepsy, coma and brain death. Today, EEG devices are used extensively for research purposes [10], especially in the field of neuroscience. Traditionally, most experiments included a human participant wherein an EEG device was connected to the subject’s forehead to detect electrical impulses indicating different brainwaves. Each brainwave implied a different emotional state of mind. Past experiments [2] [3] [4] then used the brainwave signals as input to build audio/visual art to aid in the analysis of mental health to some degree. However, the full potential to develop cheap real-time monitoring systems with novel hardware has not yet been exploited. This report attempts to bridge that gap by discussing a new feedforward system for meditation that is built upon dynamic mandalas, controlled by brain waves. A relatively recent brainwave intercepting device, Muse™, is used to collect α, β, and � brainwave signal data from human subjects in short sessions. The data is collected in both, feedforward as well as feedback usage scenarios. Exploratory analysis of the collected data indicates that majority of the participants had a calming and relaxing experience upon using Muse and the dynamic Mandala generation system.

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