eHealth Sensor Platform

E-Health Sensor Shield

I have identified an interesting hardware option for building a portable system for the bulk of the sensor/data gathering needed to determine pilot affect: the open source eHealth Sensor Platform. It is Arduino or Raspberry Pi based, and offers a rudimentary API for data gathering from  sensor like:

• Pulse Oximeter (heart rate and blood oxygen saturation)
• Electrocardigram sensor (ECG and heart rate)
• Galvanic Skin Reponse Sensor (GSR – sweating)
• Electromyogramphy Sensor (EMG)
• Sphyganomater (Blood Pressure)
• Airflow sensors (Breathing)
• Accelerometer (Subject Position)

It also offers a variety of connectivity options in terms of data transport (USB, serial, 3G, GPRS, Bluetooth, 802.15.4, and ZigBee). I’ve ordered the platform and several sensors to evaluate their performance for use in my research. It’s potentially a good fit, as the flexiforce sensors I have decided to utilize are also Arduino/Raspberry Pi based.

EEG Hardware

I’ve identified two potential headsets for EEG data acquisition. Over the course of the next several months I will be evaluating each.

Neurosky Mindwave EEG

The Neurosky MindWave is a relatively inexpensive ($99) option, but is limited in that it does not have APIs for raw access to EEG data, only to am affect model developed by the manufacture. It also utilized only two EEG sensors, so it is somewhat limited in its reporting options.

Emotiv EEG

The Emotiv EEG headset is a more expensive option (at $250 or $750 depending on licensing), but it utilizes a 16 sensor setup and has APIs for raw EEG data as well as affective models developed by the manufactures., including an api for interpreting facial expressions, emotional states, and subject intent.