Meet X.on – new wireless EEG headset for research or your next business case!

by Dr. Alex Kreilinger (Brain Products Technical Product Manager)
and Dr. Michael Schubert (Brain Products Head of Product Management)

Brain Products has been one of the most well-established provider of solutions for neurophysiological research for more than two decades. Our solutions are well-known for their high quality, flexibility, and reliability; however, our solutions are usually tailored to the needs of academic researchers, allowing them to tackle complex research questions in their full scope.

With X.on, we make EEG recordings accessible for professionals with or without prior experience through ease of use with technology delivering the same data quality that Brain Products is known for in the research world.

X.on makes it easy to acquire high quality data within minutes, by offering a unique combination of important key features:

  • A one size fits all headset that requires almost no preparation before use.

  • Sponge-based electrodes for the optimal balance between signal quality, comfort, ease of use, and short setup, yet long recording time.

  • Pre-defined electrode positions covering the most important regions of the brain for almost any kind of experiment.

  • A long-lasting battery that allows for recording times up to 5 hours.

  • A fully functional Android™ app that allows both recording data on the phone in the well-established BrainVision Core Data Format (BVCDF) as well as simultaneous LabStreamingLayer (LSL) streaming so data can be accessed online and recorded to XDF.

  • Unlimited access to raw data. Whether it is online access or offline analysis, we want to provide you with unaltered data. Except for a mandatory high-pass filter, it’s all up to you how you want to handle your data.

Meet X.on – new wireless EEG headset for research or your next business case!

Technical features in more detail

X.on makes no compromise when it comes to signal quality and gives you the means of choosing the perfect settings depending on the context or the environment. In certain experiments, you may want to use the maximum specifications, i.e., 500 Hz and 24-bit resolution. However, if the environment is particularly noisy, or you want to make use of long distances between phone and headset, or even do hyperscanning with multiple participants close by, you can reduce the sampling rate to 125 or 250 Hz and activate the “extended range” to optimize data transmission.

X.on not only provides EEG at seven main electrode positions, it also includes built-in accelerometer signals and an optional AUX input that can be used for additional biosignals, such as EOG, EMG, or ECG. Additionally, you can combine X.on with valuable sensor signals that already come with your phone (gyroscope, barometric pressure, light, GPS). These signals are combined as additional continuous signals, as extra channels, or as markers (change in ambient light levels).

Meet X.on – new wireless EEG headset for research or your next business case!

Thanks to Brain Products always being a strong supporter of LSL, you can rely on fully integrated LSL streaming functionalities. Not only can you easily connect to an LSL stream in the wireless network of the phone as soon as signal monitoring or recording is started, but we also added extra features to the LSL-specific data, such as a sample counter that makes it even easier to work with online data or to analyze data saved to XDF via LabRecorder.

That said, you do not have to use LSL at all! Simply record data on your phone and directly work with the saved files in BrainVision Analyzer. No need for any file conversion. In case you are not sure what you need, rest assured that you can do both at the same time without any problems.

App for Android™ (v10 or higher)

When purchasing X.on, you will also get access to the X.on Android™ app. Using the app makes controlling the X.on via your phone (running on Android™ v10 or higher) easy, straightforward and scalable for any potential experiment you might think of.

You can use the app to change all the relevant settings, from sampling rate to naming your files. Use it to set up and adjust the X.on by viewing electrode impedances and getting immediate feedback about data quality. You can use the app as a powerful signal viewer with the capability of selecting just the right viewing settings (individual channel view, zooming of amplitude and time axes, live Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT)). You can also use the app to start a recording to BVCDF or start LSL streaming within minutes of donning the X.on.

Meet X.on – new wireless EEG headset for research or your next business case!

That said, the app may be the main recording device, or just a proxy for setting up everything. In case your main experiment is relying on LSL, you can easily combine the X.on’s signals with other signals, such as from other X.ons or simply LSL markers that are needed for synchronizing the data with important events.

App for iOS (14.1 or higher)

If you prefer iOS, or you simply want to benefit from already implemented paradigms that are based on well-established research and use standardized methods for analysis, you will love the implementation of X.on in BrainWave Software’s PEER software. PEER makes running ERP experiments as easy as it gets, and you still get to access the raw data, naturally in BVCDF or in PEER’s own data formats.

Who is it for?

X.on is the ideal tool for educating people in academia, in classrooms, in workshops, or for pilot testing, where quick and easy setup and access to raw EEG is mandatory.

Since the X.on can easily be handled by everyone, its support will be handled through separate channels than other Brain Products equipment (resources provided on www.xon-eeg.com). Its unique features open a wide range of options where it can be used outside of the lab. Just think of the opportunities in neuromarketing, user experience testing, biofeedback, and general applications in industrial processes.

Because the X.on is so easy to don and offers typical channel positions that are frequently used in brain-computer interfaces (for example at the motor cortex or over the visual area), it is a first choice when it comes to selecting an EEG-recording device that does not require a long time for preparation before each use that can still provide great quality signals and comfort.

Of course, these are just a few suggestions, and we are sure that our customers will come up with even greater ideas. Please let us know if you have any questions, ideas, or stories involving the X.on. We are happy to keep in touch with you.