Wearable biometric sensing module for any project
The EmotiBit wearable sensor, say the developers, is a 100% customizable and hackable open-source sensor for capturing high-quality emotional, physiological, and movement data that is 100% user-owned. Designed to be easy to use, the module provides “scientifically-validated” sensing that lets users stream wireless data over any Adafruit Feather-enabled protocol to any platform or record data directly to the built-in SD card.
To use the module, say the developers, requires only three steps:
- Stack EmotiBit with any Adafruit Feather module, insert an SD card, and plug in a battery.
- Place EmotiBit almost anywhere on the body and launch the visualizer to start viewing physiological data.
- Save data to an SD card, stream anywhere via LSL, OSC, TCP, etc, or open up the code and do anything you want!
The module, say the developers, enables artists and makers to unlock new perspectives on biometric signals, and lets anyone explore their own health and wellness without reservations about where that data might end up.
“EmotiBit is able to detect 16+ biometric signals that are constantly traveling throughout our bodies,” says the Kickstarter page, “reflecting our moment-by-moment physiological and emotional changes. We believe that understanding these signals may be a key to unlock human potential in the 21st century and we’re creating EmotiBit to empower personalized health and wellness, better understanding of emotions and empathy, and possibly even open the door to new capacity for communication and cognition.”
The module’s 16 data streams include:
- PPG (3-wavelength) that can derive heart rate, heart rate variability, respiration, oxygen saturation, hydration and (we believe) much more
- EDA/GSR (electrodermal activity/galvanic skin response) reflecting sympathetic nervous system responses that are driven by cognitive and emotional arousal
- Nine-axis IMU (accel, gyro, mag) that can derive movements, activity, gesture, rotation, and cardinal direction
- Body temperature that can be used to assess health as well as emotional reactions
The EmotiBit was designed so that it could be worn just about anywhere on the body, enabling and users to choose locations that work best for their purposes. Depending on where on the body it is placed, say the developers, users can pick up a slightly different constellation of biometric signals revealing different aspects of emotional, mental, and physical state.
A cross-platform (Mac, PC, Linux) visualizer is built on the OpenFrameworks creative-coding toolkit to make it easy to start streaming data and allow open-source customizability. The EmotiBit module starts at $199.
EmotiBit
Connected Future Labs
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