Octopus 16 Wireless EEG Platform Enables Hands‑Free Gaming

Octopus 16 is a compact, wireless biosignal acquisition platform that pairs with XIAO ESP32‑S3 or ESP32‑C6 development boards. It features sixteen spring‑loaded electrodes and two Texas Instruments ADS131M08 24‑bit ADCs to record EEG, EMG and ECG signals, with programmable gain and built‑in filtering.

When connected, the device acts as a Bluetooth Low Energy HID game controller, allowing users to navigate compatible computer games using only brain activity. The hardware and firmware, along with the PiEEG open‑source software suite, are released under open‑source licenses, and a virtual demo lets users test the system without the hardware. Developers note that while the platform demonstrates the feasibility of hands‑free gaming, it is not yet a replacement for conventional input devices, but it shows promise for accessibility research and human‑computer interaction studies.