“Eloe” is a computer program that explores the application of BCIs in visual creativity. It gives artists an opportunity to explore the aesthetic possibilities of affecting the visuals directly with brain waves.

Design Goal

The main purpose of the software is to enrich the experience of creating art and capture this experience in visual form. When creating, artists often experience “flow” – a state of increased concentration, energy creativity. “Eloe” tracks the mental state of an artist and guides her towards “flow”. The software also translates artist’s mental state into visuals by controlling parts of the drawing process with the data received from the brain-computer interface. A secondary goal is to give artists a new tool that expands their methodology and adds a new dimension to their self-expression. “Eloe” gives them access to the primal source of creativity – the brain.

Methodology

The system is build around NeuroSky MindSet brain-computer interface. It measures voltage fluctuations in human brain and uses proprietary processing algorithms to translate them into values of amplitudes across several brainwave frequency ranges and cumulative values for “attention” and “meditation”. This data is captured and interpreted by “Eloe” software and used to augment drawings made by tracking hand movements with Microsoft Kinect.

Thickness of a line that is drawn is inversely proportionate to “attention” value – higher value gives thinner line; “meditation” controls a choice of color from a pre-set color swatch. Concentrating on a certain task would increase the level of “attention” thus allowing more detailed work. Color swatches can be assigned to different levels of “meditation” to add a layer of meaning to artist’s work – i.e. the higher the level the lighter the shade, resulting with absolute white at the peak of meditative state – a metaphor for nothingness.

Testing with an artist