That time a neuroscientist friend warned me about open-source BCI kits

I was at a coffee shop in Austin last fall and this researcher from UT told me she stopped using her DIY BCI headband after it started picking up way more neural noise than advertised. She said 'these cheap amps can leak signals you don't want leaking' and now I can't unsee the privacy risks. Has anyone else looked into how secure those hobbyist boards actually are?

2 comments

2 Comments

morgan3161d ago

@calebm46 nailed it. The firmware on those cheap boards is basically a black box with no real security audits. I looked into one popular kit and the documentation literally said "do not use for medical purposes" in tiny font. The whole "neural noise" thing is a euphemism for picking up stray electrical signals from nearby devices or even your own muscles twitching. With zero grounding and cheap components, you're basically broadcasting raw brain data over Bluetooth for anyone within range to grab. Not exactly what you want when you're trying to relax with biofeedback.

calebm462d ago

Signals you don't want leaking" yeah that's the part that spooks me. Those open-source boards have zero shielding and nobody's auditing the firmware.