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[July 06, 2009]

NeuroSky Distributing MindSet Development Tools for Free

Jul 02, 2009 (Close-Up Media via COMTEX) -- NeuroSky, a provider of Consumer Brain-Computer Interface technologies for consumers, formally announced they are making the MindSet Development Tools (MDT), its SDK for the MindSet headset, available as a free download from the NeuroSky Store.

The MDT allows programmers and application developers to create software that communicates with the NeuroSky MindSet headset. The MindSet was released March 24 at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco as a response to Independent Developers and University Researchers who were interested in using the NeuroSky BCI ThinkGear technology, but who did not have the ability to manufacture their own headsets.

"Our technology brings the power of BCI to the mass market, it is up to our partners and developers to determine the best applications for our ThinkGear technology," said Stanley Yang, CEO of NeuroSky. "Our goal is to support innovation, not to limit it, and having the MDT available for free will allow developers to become more comfortable with our cutting edge products. This technology provides added value to applications that already exist and opens up opportunities for revolutionary new products." "In addition to questions about developing entertainment applications, we regularly receive requests from people who want to know if our technology can be used for ADD/ADHD, games for health, sports training and a number of others," said Tansy Brook Communications Manager with NeuroSky. "We are currently working with a number of partners like the Serious Games Institute in the UK, who are sponsoring beneficial games applications, but we decided to make the MTD free to expand the opportunities for both Corporate and Independent Developers. With the right partners the possibilities for this technology are endless." The eSense algorithms in the ThinkGear technology recognize a user's brainwave activity during varying levels of attention (concentration) and meditation (relaxation), process the information into digital signals, and then transmit the signals to a device (typically a computer) as commands. The MindSet can also transmit detailed brainwave data in a raw wave form (including muscle movement) for developers who would like more details about the measured biosignals, such as breakdowns of electroencephalography (EEG) frequency bands like alpha and beta.

The MindSet communicates with computers and devices through standard Bluetooth serial protocols (SPP), and, using the MDT, developers will be able to create applications for computers and devices, ranging from PCs to mobile devices.

Like the Apple iPhone App Store and the Google's Android Marketplace, applications developed for the MindSet will be able to be distributed on the NeuroSky Store for sale and downloaded by other MindSet customers, as well as through traditional distribution channels. This will allow MindSet customers to buy and download all sorts of applications for use with their MindSets.

((Comments on this story may be sent to newsdesk@closeupmedia.com))

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