MindRider + LIGHTS
I ride my bike almost daily, but when I moved to NYC years ago, cycling in such a dense urban environment intimidated me. It took a long time to adjust. By then, I took to tricking out my helmet with different caps and lights to keep my gear cleaner and safer. This led to helmet experiments with circuitry and interactivity. When I came to MIT, I was curious to add some of the new commercial EEG (electroencephalography) devices to the mix.
MindRider v.1 translates the cyclist’s brain state to helmet light colors, like in traffic lighting:
- yellow = slight agitation
- red = stress
- blinking red = panic
MindRider v.2 is busting out onto the streets! Sandra Richter, one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People of 2013, asked our team to develop a MindRider+GPS pair to log brain activity in time and space. This pair of MindRiders is being used for her study Social Cycling: Quantifying the Level of Perceived Safety when Biking in Pairs. We are excited to develop “Experience Maps” of cyclists’ geo-located brain activity. These maps can reveal previously unobserved relationships between the cyclist and the environment, and they have all kinds of applications for personal fitness, urban planning, safety analysis, and more.
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