Biohacking on a Budget
EmotiBit brings high-quality, scientifically-validated biometric data sensing to the masses with their infinitely hackable wearable.
What would you do if you could easily collect streams of biometric signals from your body throughout the day? This is the question Connected Future Labs asked themselves as they designed the open source EmotiBit biometric sensor. By designing an easy to use device that is far less costly than most devices on the market, they have opened the door to a much wider array of hobbyists and researchers that can give their own answers to the aforementioned question.
At just under $200 in the present Kickstarter campaign, EmotiBit is dense with features. The wearable device can capture emotional, physiological, and movement data. Electrodermal activity and galvanic skin response sensing gives insight into emotional status and emotion intensity. A photoplethysmogram records physiological parameters such as heart rate, heart rate variability, respiration, hydration, and oxygenation. A nine-axis inertial measurement unit detects movements, gestures, and rotation. Rounding out the sensors is a temperature sensor to capture body temperature.
EmotiBit is compatible with the Adafruit Feather form factor. By stacking the device on top of a Feather, you can take advantage of its additional functionalities, such as WiFi connectivity or motor control. You can 3D print your own case for the EmotiBit with the help of design files available in the developers’ GitHub repository. With the help of a velcro strap threaded through the case, the EmotiBit can be attached nearly anywhere on the body. Depending on your specific use case, you may want to target a particular location. Some body regions are better than others for each type of sensing.
The privacy-conscious hacker will be pleased that all data is 100% user-owned — nothing is sent to the cloud. The raw data can be saved to an onboard SD card, streamed over WiFi, or transferred in just about any way you want, with relative ease considering the numerous add-ons available in the Feather ecosystem.
The raw data can be visualized in the EmotiBitOscilloscope software (Mac, PC, Linux), which was built with the OpenFrameworks creative-coding toolkit. It allows you to get a glimpse of the various streams of biometrics to help you understand the data, and how it may be used in a project.
Empowering hobbyists and researchers to capture high-quality, scientifically-validated biometric data with an inexpensive, open source device opens up many new possibilities. I hope to see some of these ideas reported right here at Hackster News after the first batch of devices ship early next year.