technology (such us in Gaming), among other applications.

BCI

The major entrepreneurial leaders and experts in technology agree that the 21st century is the century of technology based on neuroscience or better known as Neurotechnology. Within this area, Brain-Computer Interfaces are positioned more and more as the new technological device that will mark a whole generation and that will be the base and the vanguard of future hardware and software ventures.

A brain-computer interface is a direct communication path between an improved or connected brain and an external device. They have the potential to be used for a variety of scenarios and applications, all based on “reading the mind of the person,” for example helping individuals with physical disabilities better adapt by using a robotic hand controlled by the mind, or in video games to execute different commands using only your thoughts, or to control an external hardware, like a drone. They also have great applications in medical and psychological treatment and diagnosis among other areas.

In this framework of brain-computer interfaces, our company Naxon works with portable EEG technology (a non-invasive type of brain-computer interface of recent creation) for the development of practical tools and applications.

Advantages of portable EEG technology

There are multiple health problems linked to the brain and neurocognitive diagnosis that must currently be evaluated through expensive equipment and/or in specialized centers. This situation limits the population’s access to diagnostic studies to treat diseases or brain disorders in time, delaying treatments that can improve the quality of life.

Additionally, there are many cases of physical impairments related to brain problems that generate limitations in the normal adaptation of the person to the environment. The same technology that allows solving these difficulties and improving medical diagnosis can expand the accessibility and control of the environment of people with physical difficulties, and also in people without medical pathologies in various areas such as hardware control and the use of virtual reality.

In recent years, portable low-cost electroencephalography (EEG) devices have been developed with wireless connectivity, confortable and easy to install, which can be used extensively by medical, clinical and professional centers to study certain patterns and perform diagnoses and treatments, as well as by different users for mind-controlled applications. In addition to medical centers or clinics, it can also be used in other environments such as in schools with children for performance evaluation and for support in various psychological assessments.

Under the concept of Brain-Computer Interface (BCI), Naxon seeks to use EEG equipment to obtain neuronal information based on brain waves, which will be recorded in a software and data platform, which will have tools for analysis and assistance in diagnosis and treatment. We intend to lay the foundations for using big data and machine learning techniques, so that pattern analysis can be performed to improve professional assistance in diagnostics and treatment, as well as generating practical applications for different professional needs and for mind-controlled hardware and software. The platform will be available in a Software-as-a-Service format.

Lines of development

Currently, we have three types of products in parallel development.

On the one hand, we are developing a practical and useful tool for researchers in the fields of Neuroscience, Psychology and related areas interested in exploring the possibilities of portable EEG devices for academic and development purposes. We want research in neuroscience and psychology to be facilitated and simplified to accelerate the development of new applications that read our minds, while opening the possibility of expanding research in these disciplines in a general way by reducing the high costs of traditional EEG devices and the difficulties and restrictions that they entail to perform research in new scenarios. Thiswill allow expanding the development of new applications of brain-computer interfaces.

Our product allows this, based on a software and data platform integrated with tools to configure and conduct experiments with portable EEG devices, with built-in pattern detection tools (including evoked potentials, brain wave measurements and mental state detection algorithms) and machine learning tools to work with recorded data. Each user will have the possibility to store and access the sessions on our data platform. And it will be available in a software-as-a-service format.

As a second line of development, we want to take Neurotechnology applied to Clinical Psychology, Therapy or Well-being, among other areas, to another level than it currently is by developing an innovative next-generation tool. We speak of a instrument that aligns with the global advances of treatment and professional diagnosis assisted by technology, an area with a rapid incorporation in the market. Our product allows professionals to know more accurately the emotional and cognitive states of their clients and intervene on them.

The product consists of a software application that can be used with a computer, cell phone or tablet that works in conjunction with portable EEG devices. Through complex patterns analysis and creation of predictive algorithms, we can differentiate different mental states, allowing a live visualization and feedback. The sessions can be recorded and accessed later, where one can display the tracking information of different mental states over time.

Finally, we are working on bringing videogame control to a new level, designing commands that allow us to control them with our through thoughts and subtle movements of our face, all in a wirelessly manner. But this is not the only difference, by assessing the mental state of the person, we are able to modify the conditions of the game according to how the person is feeling, which adds one more level of immersion in the gaming experience.