WAVES
A Capstone Project
 |  |  |
|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |
ABOUT ME
Tsipora Stone
Tsipora Stone is a sophomore, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in computer science at the University of Maryland and is fluent in Java and is knowledgable in other languages such as C, Python and JavaScript. She is at the culmination of her participation in the Design Cultures and Creativity Honors living and learning program, in which students learn about the importance of digital technology in the modern age.
Besides for her interest in coding and computers, Tsipora has always loved music and has been singing and playing guitar from a young age. She decided to pair her knowledge of computer science and music with her strong interest in the effects of mental illness on the brain to create “Waves”, her concluding project for the Design Cultures and Creativity honors program. This project serves as the beginning of her journey to completely abolishing the effects of mental illness which many people feel everyday. She plans to continue working on this project after she graduates from DCC and hopes that her project will one day make a difference in the lives of people affected by mental illness.
ABOUT MY PROJECT
Overview and Importance
“Waves” explores the deeply rooted connection between music and mental health using EEG technology and delves into how the brain is affected by mental illness. “Waves” is a platform that detects stress in the brain and plays music to induce a state of calm. The EEG headset outputs data from brainwaves and the program decides the levels of stress of the current user. Based on the level of stress the user is experiencing, the program will begin playing music and continue to track the user’s stress levels. If the program determines that there was a significant change in the user’s brainwaves, it will exit the program, otherwise it will continue playing other songs until this result is achieved. “Waves” has a huge impact on a growing segment of the country – with 18.1% of U.S. adults reporting they suffer from mental illness. Since every mental illness is unique, the ways to combat the effects of mental illness should be individualized as well. There is no universal way to aid those who suffer with mental illness and “Waves” takes this into account by creating a unique experience for each user.
HOW IT WORKS
The project is based on a few main elements. The first and most important element is the EEG headset, which is the heart of the project. The EEG, electroencephalography, captures the frequencies of different brainwaves, which can then display a significant amount about mood and emotions. An EEG headset was vital to read emotions from the brain, the data that would then be used to play music. The second element that this project is based on is music. Research shows that music aids mental health and this project combines EEG technology and music to create a product that is guaranteed to create an individual experience for each user.
THE HARDWARE
“Waves” uses the Mindflex EEG headset, and an Arduino as well as a Mac Unix computer. One wire was soldered to the Mindflex’s ground pin and another wire was soldered to the Mindlex’s T pin, which was then connected to the Arduino’s RX pin. This allows for the serial communication between the headset and the Arduino. That’s it for the hardware!
THE SOFTWARE
The project uses Arduino, Processing and Python. The Arduino code opens a serial port between the Mindflex headset and the computer, the Processing code also opens a serial port with the headset and then graphs the fluctuations in the brainwaves, and the Python code receives the data from the Arduino code, interprets the numbers and plays music based on the user’s mood.
BRAIN READING USING PROCESSING
An image rendering of the different frequencies of brainwaves in the brain
“A novel implementation of EEG technology, an EEG project for the masses.”