Fate Active | Founded 2011 in U.S.A. | |
Industry Technology, Bioinfomatics Founder Tan Le (CEO), Geoff Mackellar (CTO) Headquarters San Francisco, California, U.S.A. Products EPOC+, Insight, Software and SDKs | ||
EMOTIV Inc. is a privately-held bio-informatics and technology company developing and manufacturing wearable EEG (Electroencephalography) technologies including Neuroheadsets, SDK’s, Software, Mobile Apps and Data products. Founded in 2011 by Tan Le and Dr. Geoff Mackellar, the company is headquartered in San Francisco, U.S.A. with facilities in Sydney, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The technology falls under the umbrella of BCIs (Brain Computer Interface) and also referred to as MMI (Mind Machine Interface), DNI (Direct Neural Interface), BMI (Brain Machine Interface) and aims to track cognitive performance, monitor emotions, and control both virtual and physical objects via machine learning of trained mental commands.
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History
Tan Le founded a separate company called Emotiv Systems with Nam Do, Allan Snyder, and Neil Weste, in Australia in 2003. The work resulted in the first version of the EPOC neuroheadset released in 2009, one of the first mobile EEG device available to the market.
In 2010, Tan Le split from the partnership to establish a US entity Emotiv Lifesciences Inc. with Dr. Geoffrey Mackellar. In December 2013 Emotiv Lifesciences officially changed its name to EMOTIV Inc..
The company designed EMOTIV Insight, a ‘prosumer’ 5-channel headset and raised capital to develop and manufacture the device and supporting software via crowd funding site Kickstarter. The campaign raised $1,643,117 against the original target of $100,000 USD and received accolades including an Edison Award in April 2014.
In 2013, the company redesigned and released EMOTIV EPOC+, a wireless, 14-channel mobile EEG system to target professional use in research and industrial applications with upgraded electronics including 9-axis inertial sensors, Bluetooth Smart and an improved power source.
In October 2015, EMOTIV Insight was made available for general release.
In 2015 EMOTIV joined the Disney/Techstars Accelerator program and presented at "Demo Day" in October the same year.
Current headset models
In 2013, EMOTIV Inc. released EPOC+, which is a research-oriented wireless headset that records 14-channel EEG. Unlike conventional EEG systems that use sticky gels, it uses saline based wet sensors. There are 2 reference sensors at P3 and P4 locations. The EPOC+ measures both EEG and 9-axis motion data. Data is transmitted wirelessly through Bluetooth. An independent research group in Macquarie University reported that it has comparable signal quality compared to other research-level device.
The EMOTIV Insight was made available for general release in 2015. It is a 5-channel wireless EEG device covering frontal, temporal and parieto-occipital locations around the brain. It is designed for everyday use by individuals looking to understand and improve their own brains. It utilizes proprietary polymer sensors that are hydrophilic; they pull moisture from the air and skin.
Software and SDK
EMOTIV provides free companion app called Insight App for users to monitor their emotions. There are also pay-to-download games like Arena which allows users to experience mental commands. EMOTIV provides a two-tier SDK: Basic and Prime versions. The EMOTIV research & developer community has grown to over 70,000 people and spans globally