New lucid aid: Aurora, The Dream-Enhancing Headband.

[litos1979]

The Aurora is a smart headband that plays personalized lights and sounds to help you have lucid dreams. Lucid Dreaming Made Easy! The idea of lucid dreaming, or becoming aware of one's dream, has been around for centuries. In a lucid dream state, anything becomes possible: zoom through space, fight fire-breathing dragons or become president, all from the comfort and safety of your own bed! The Aurora is a headband that plays special lights and sounds during REM to help you become aware that you are dreaming as you stay asleep - allowing you to take control of your dreams! Lucid dreams are about more than just entertainment; they can also improve waking life. Research shows that those who lucid dream regularly experience fewer nightmares and lower levels of stress and anxiety. Visualizing activities during dreams actually improves performance of those activities in waking life. The Aurora can help you nail that upcoming presentation, hit the game-winning shot or ask your future spouse out on your first date! We spend one third of our lives asleep. Why not make the most of that time? People from all walks of life, such as Salvador Dali, Stephen King, Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla looked to their dreams for inspiration. Optimized Technology Onboard Our innovative software knows when you dream by measuring brainwave and eye-movement activity, while also tracking body movements. Cutting-edge Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) technology enables seamless connections to other devices (Android, iOS, desktop), power savings, and a platform for out-of-the-box 3rd party app development. Our app will allow you to create and share your very own dream signs. You'll be able to coordinate a full spectrum of dazzling light effects from the Aurora with sounds from your music library or personal recordings; there will be endless ways to help direct the dream experience. Create daring dreamsigns with quick, loud flashes for an immediate lucidity alert, or try softer, less apparent tones to subtly modulate your dreamscape! Why not transport your dreams to the beach with seagull and wave sounds over a pulsating blue ocean, or curl up to a cozy fire with crackling wood and orange/red hues? The possibilities are truly limitless. What do you think guys?

[VagalTone]

I can only hope this will help! And probably better than other devices. It seems a competent team, but i can´t judge the judge technical aspects.

[Manoko]

Oh, I happened to came to start this thread as well. Yes, it looks really sharp, and the team behind it already confirmed that they will give test-results of their experiments with the device before the end of the Kickstarter campaign !

[DREAMER242000]

I pledged my money just over a week ago, I have a lot of confidence in these guys. Happy Christmas to everyone.

[Manoko]

I pledged my money just over a week ago, I have a lot of confidence in this guys. Same here, pledged the hour the campaign went live. I had the chance to talk to them before the campaign went live, they simply are awesome and very genuine people.

[Bobblehat]

How are they training people to recognise the cues? That's always the biggest problem to overcome. Also, the lights on the one in the video are exposed meaning those that share a bed with someone won't be able to use it for fear of waking their sleeping companion.

[AnotherDreamer]

I'd like to see proof that it actually works like they make it seem that it does, so I know that it isn't just an expensive alarm clock. Also, that lady is a dream control master! I wish that I had that kind of control, to just move my hand and the whole dream world changes. It sounds like a really cool product if it works.

[Manoko]

How are they training people to recognise the cues? That's always the biggest problem to overcome. Also, the lights on the one in the video are exposed meaning those that share a bed with someone won't be able to use it for fear of waking their sleeping companion. What you see in the video is a simple prototype. And yes, I agree with training to recognise the cues. Anyway, it should at least be a great tool for lucid dreamers because you can customize the device to wake you up right after a REM stage of sleep, when your memories of the dream are very fresh.

[Goldenspark]

I wish them luck! The problem that I have come to realise is that the balance between dreaming and waking is very delicate. While a small percentage of people will find this device works for them, many more will be expecting instant results that probably will not happen. It's not the initial recognition of the dream state that is the problem, but holding on to that balance of not waking. Time will tell......

[paulfitz]

From what I can tell, this looks like another scam. All they have is a photoshopped image of a brainwave on an iPhone. And that box with flashing lights. It looks exactly like the "knight rider" project that they teach electrical engineering students during their first week! They don't appear to have any amplification. They have no reference electrode (on the earlobe or elsewhere), so all they would get is noise at this point. Definitely not the clean-looking signals that they slapped onto an iPhone photo! In any case, they seem to be passing their device off as something much more advanced than it is. Until they can show a working prototype (as Kickstarter requires), I'm gonna pass on this one. Ask them for a video of the device actually reading brainwaves. If they can't provide that, I would start being very skeptical.

[Manoko]

From what I can tell, this looks like another scam. All they have is a photoshopped image of a brainwave on an iPhone. And that box with flashing lights. It looks exactly like the "knight rider" project that they teach electrical engineering students during their first week! They don't appear to have any amplification. They have no reference electrode (on the earlobe or elsewhere), so all they would get is noise at this point. Definitely not the clean-looking signals that they slapped onto an iPhone photo! In any case, they seem to be passing their device off as something much more advanced than it is. Until they can show a working prototype (as Kickstarter requires), I'm gonna pass on this one. Ask them for a video of the device actually reading brainwaves. If they can't provide that, I would start being very skeptical. They already confirmed that they will do a live Google Hangout to show the prototypes working and reading both brainwaves and eye movements. So for the scammy part, that's pretty hard to fake. :p

[paulfitz]

They already confirmed that they will do a live Google Hangout to show the prototypes working and reading both brainwaves and eye movements. So for the scammy part, that's pretty hard to fake. :p Indeed it would be hard to fake. I look forward to seeing that then.

[Highlander]

$90k funding goal reached as of yesterday. Aurora has cleared the tower...

[Goldenspark]

Hey Paulfitz, where are you getting the information about no amplification and no reference electrode? Actually, the reference electrode doesn't need to be on an earlobe. It can be positioned as just another electrode, anywhere near the others, since it is usually used to cancel common-mode noise from mains hum. Clean EEG signals are not difficult to get with a few op amps and some passives. The difficult part for the device is the algorithm to reliably detect when you are in REM.

[Manoko]

Hey Paulfitz, where are you getting the information about no amplification and no reference electrode? Actually, the reference electrode doesn't need to be on an earlobe. It can be positioned as just another electrode, anywhere near the others, since it is usually used to cancel common-mode noise from mains hum. Clean EEG signals are not difficult to get with a few op amps and some passives. The difficult part for the device is the algorithm to reliably detect when you are in REM. And the team behind it is working with sleep clinics to fine-tune their algorithm, which is, from what they have said, really precise. And, user experience will help with this calibration process, to the point of having something extremely reliable very soon (if not already).

[pointofbeing]

Seems very suspicious to me also. For reference decent real time brain wave readers that provide enough data and speed for actual graphs like that are massive and require lots of wires. The only thing something small like that might provide is like movement in a game. Here is an example 130322_FT_eeg_patient.jpg When you go a simple $100 route that still looks more complex than that headband that will apparently give a full brainwave scan you get this: necomimi-brainwave-cat-ears-rawr-625x416-c.jpg you get cat ears that move up and down with your emotional state ;P thank you Japan for brain wave cat ears my life is now complete. Actually after watching the video again at 50sec mark when they show the graph running there is a clear watermark of Photoshopping, On an I-phone there is a black bar around the edge of the screen but before the main case of the phone, the video on the phone appears to no to subtly hover over this subtle black edge rather than appear to be underneath like on the real I-phone. It also doesn't help that the areas responsible for dream activity and the brainwaves associated with them are nowhere near the forehead at all. This is an image of the spots that are requested by MIT for unconscious brain wave test's, the spot they tell you to put that headband is literately as far away from where it should really be to read unconscious brainwaves. 20121105120606-1.jpg

[Manoko]

Seems very suspicious to me also. For reference decent real time brain wave readers that provide enough data and speed for actual graphs like that are massive and require lots of wires. The only thing something small like that might provide is like movement in a game. Here is an example 130322_FT_eeg_patient.jpg When you go a simple $100 route that still looks more complex than that headband that will apparently give a full brainwave scan you get this: necomimi-brainwave-cat-ears-rawr-625x416-c.jpg you get cat ears that move up and down with your emotional state ;P thank you Japan for brain wave cat ears my life is now complete. Actually after watching the video again at 50sec mark when they show the graph running there is a clear watermark of Photoshopping, On an I-phone there is a black bar around the edge of the screen but before the main case of the phone, the video on the phone appears to no to subtly hover over this subtle black edge rather than appear to be underneath like on the real I-phone. It also doesn't help that the areas responsible for dream activity and the brainwaves associated with them are nowhere near the forehead at all. This is an image of the spots that are requested by MIT for unconscious brain wave test's, the spot they tell you to put that headband is literately as far away from where it should really be to read unconscious brainwaves. 20121105120606-1.jpg Interesting, I don't know nearly enough regarding EEG to reply to you though. Could you maybe pledge $1 to the project, allowing you to share those doubts in the comment section ? I'm absolutely sure that iWinks will reply to them.

[iWinks]

Hi! Jack from iWinks here to help answer some questions. In order to detect REM stages via EEG, you don't need to wear the full 256 or 512 electrode EEG cap. In that MIT image, the hotspot is on the temporal lobe (polar region) which is a brain area strongly associated with semantic meaning processing and language in general. If you wanted to "read people's thoughts," something that is far off in the future and nowhere near feasible with current tech you'd look at that region. Similarly if you wanted to decode visual information from brain activity, you'd look at the occipital lobe (the back of the brain). Brainwaves are generated by the entire brain, not just certain areas but the functions they are associated with vary greatly. Part of the reason that we use the frontal areas is that there are distinct signatures in the frontal lobe that vary greatly with level of conscious state (i.e. awake, deep sleep, REM, etc). Going back a few posts, 3 electrodes is the standard for single-channel EEG. In our most recent update you can see another video of the headband collecting raw data and the algorithm scoring sleep stages based on that data! *Prohibited Link Removed* Aurora: The Dream-Enhancing Headband by iWinks LLC » Happy New Year! Tech Demo and Stretch Goal Inside

[pointofbeing]

How do you accurately record an EEG with a single probe and no ground? You guy's need multiple leads and an amplifier for accuracy, you say you don't need a full 256 or 512 electrode egg cap, but for the thing to be remotely accurate for when it thinks I'm in rem at the very least around 12 electrodes would be needed, otherwise you will receive a very noisy signal. At best with one contact you guy's are approximating rem very inaccurately.

[Manoko]

How do you accurately record an EEG with a single probe and no ground? What makes you think there is only one electrode ?

[pointofbeing]

looking at the headband, it does not contain more than 2 max contacts, and where is the amp? Imho That thing is not going to be accurate at all. They can show it displaying a graph till they are blue in the face (even in real time), the fact they are claiming to get accurate rem readings from as few contacts as they have in one spot on your head is misleading at best and downright dishonest. They need to say we are creating a cool piece of kit that can loosely read your brain state, I would buy it if they were more honest about it. They make it out like this thing down right precisions when you rem. It can't. It only has one channel that is not good, plus there is no ground since it's using Bluetooth. Signal amplitude calibration, and signal to noise ratio will be very bad. Any eye movement artifacts, Muscular Artifacts, will overload the frontopolar and frontotemporal electrodes. How does this thing calibrate anyway? I grantee this thing is full of 60hz noise. It's a cool science experiment, but until somebody makes an lucid dreaming mask, band ect eeg with removable electrodes, and a lot more of them, not a worthy 150+ dollar product.

[iWinks]

looking at the headband, it does not contain more than 2 max contacts, and where is the amp? Imho That thing is not going to be accurate at all. They can show it displaying a graph till they are blue in the face (even in real time), the fact they are claiming to get accurate rem readings from as few contacts as they have in one spot on your head is misleading at best and downright dishonest. They need to say we are creating a cool piece of kit that can loosely read your brain state, I would buy it if they were more honest about it. They make it out like this thing down right precisions when you rem. It can't. It only has one channel that is not good, plus there is no ground since it's using Bluetooth. Signal amplitude calibration, and signal to noise ratio will be very bad. Any eye movement artifacts, Muscular Artifacts, will overload the frontopolar and frontotemporal electrodes. How does this thing calibrate anyway? I grantee this thing is full of 60hz noise. It's a cool science experiment, but until somebody makes an lucid dreaming mask, band ect eeg with removable electrodes, and a lot more of them, not a worthy 150+ dollar product. Hi pointofbeing, We have 3 electrodes making contact with the skin (so yes, we have a ground). They are part of a system we developed using NeuroSky's amplifier chip. NeuroSky - Brainwave Sensors for Everybody Three electrodes for single channel EEG works just fine (http://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent...ntext=sspapers) is just one of many examples of people using this paradigm. We developed the algorithm by having a professional sleep clinic (Sleep960 | Sleep Applications, Education & Services) have people wear an early version of the headband to sleep at the same time as they wore the entire Polysomnograph setup. We then had the professionals help us score the sleep data it generated to detect REM by hand and tag it. We used this professionally tagged data to train our algorithm. In effect the Aurora can detect REM just as well as a full polysomnograph setup! We are serious about this idea and the science behind it. We know the community has been burned in the past but we are the real deal!

[Goldenspark]

Hey Jack, I'm not so skeptical, since I have been using the Zeo headband, and I know it can work at basically detecting REM with a reference and one differential pair (i.e. 3 electrodes). (I do wish people would not pronounce without first getting their facts straight!). I'm certainly interested to see how you go, but as you say, I have been burnt a bit with Zeo - it still works but no support and the replacement headbands will get expensive and rare no doubt. How do you plan to tackle the possible problem I mentioned earlier about it only working well for a few people, i.e. the ones with some patience and resolve?

[pointofbeing]

Hi pointofbeing, We have 3 electrodes making contact with the skin (so yes, we have a ground). They are part of a system we developed using NeuroSky's amplifier chip. NeuroSky - Brainwave Sensors for Everybody Three electrodes for single channel EEG works just fine (http://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent...ntext=sspapers) is just one of many examples of people using this paradigm. We developed the algorithm by having a professional sleep clinic (Sleep960 | Sleep Applications, Education & Services) have people wear an early version of the headband to sleep at the same time as they wore the entire Polysomnograph setup. We then had the professionals help us score the sleep data it generated to detect REM by hand and tag it. We used this professionally tagged data to train our algorithm. In effect the Aurora can detect REM just as well as a full polysomnograph setup! We are serious about this idea and the science behind it. We know the community has been burned in the past but we are the real deal! Yes you have 3 electrodes, but the ground is passive, meaning you only have two active contacts, which is the minimum for a channel. The point I'm making is not that you guys are making a bad product, just that given that you only have one channel, it's going to be inaccurate and full of noise. This is not a fault of you, or your product it's a fault of science. Obviously you cant just wear a full cap and plug in all the electrodes it would be invasive and ungodly expensive. You are making a device that is reasonably priced and simple, but it's got flaws simply because of it's simple nature. You can't get accuracy from a single channel, nobody could. If you are detecting rem, how? How does a single channel detect rem not just once and a while but all the time? How does it deal with the potential 60hz noise?

[iWinks]

Hey Jack, I'm not so skeptical, since I have been using the Zeo headband, and I know it can work at basically detecting REM with a reference and one differential pair (i.e. 3 electrodes). (I do wish people would not pronounce without first getting their facts straight!). I'm certainly interested to see how you go, but as you say, I have been burnt a bit with Zeo - it still works but no support and the replacement headbands will get expensive and rare no doubt. How do you plan to tackle the possible problem I mentioned earlier about it only working well for a few people, i.e. the ones with some patience and resolve? That is something that is realistically going to vary from person to person. The device takes out a huge chunk of the work for lucid dreaming (by giving you a reliable cue that you are in REM), but ultimately it comes down to the user. Some people may succeed on the first night and some may take a while longer. I think for people on this thread it would work quite well, given that you all have an interest in dreaming in general. POB, with regards to accuracy, it's a very clean signal, and like I mentioned, with our hardware we can detect REM as well as a full polysomnograph + specialist can. Signal-to-noise has not been an issue for us- I'm still not clear on why you are so convinced that it would be. The dry electrodes we use are very well designed. Our REM detection algorithm is a serious piece of math and programming, spend some time reading about "machine learning" if you want to know more details on how that stuff works.