Project Overview

Lune Digital was selected by Pylot to design and develop the Electronics and Firmware for an innovative wearable device.

This flexible headband integrates EEG and PPG sensors to track a person’s mental state, helping them improve their mental performance at work, or while studying.

It connects to a computer, phone or tablet using Bluetooth, where an application analyzes the data.

WORK WITH US

Process

From Discovery to Initial Prototypes

At the start of the project, the product requirements were drafted, and a development plan, effort and budget estimation was created.

This was followed by the hardware design and hardware review. The firmware was created in parallel with the prototype electronics being produced, ensuring that firmware was available as soon as the hardware prototypes arrived.

The first prototype revision was already fully functional, thanks to the thorough hardware review process at Lune Digital, and data from all sensors was found to be good quality.

From Prototyping to the Final Product

The first prototypes were used to get initial feedback from early adopters, and consisted of a fabric headband with a snap-on main unit enclosed in plastic.

Based on feedback from early adopters, the design was improved by integrating the entire electronics, including the battery, inside a fully flexible band. To achieve this, the electronics was updated to a rigid-flex design, integrating the main processing unit, Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity, EEG sensor, PPG sensor, battery, USB-C charging, accelerometer, button, LED, all in a slim, flexible form factor.

This is a bold and challenging approach, which required clever engineering solutions in both the mechanical and electronic designs.

Highlights and Achievements

  • Lightweight and flexible, allowing it to curve around the user’s head.
  • Comfortable to wear for extended time durations.
  • Easy to use with immediate live feedback to the user.
  • Fast and easy firmware update over Bluetooth 5.2 connection.
  • Good quality data.
  • 10-hour battery life allows for a full day work session.
  • The algorithms are able to measure mental fatigue with consumer-grade sensors in an affordable device.
  • The app is able to learn individual profiles to provide feedback on ideal working schedules.

Trials and Product Release

The product is currently in trial phase, and is being prepared for product release
and mass-production.

Going forward, Lune Digital is responsible for:

  • Ensuring that the product receives the required EMC and safety certifications required for international product release.
  • Drafting the QA test plan and procedures, as well as providing the necessary hardware and software for quality testing.
  • Ongoing support and troubleshooting.

Conclusions

Early Adoption

This project is an excellent demonstration of the value of using early adopters to ensure that the final product will fulfil the expectations of the users.

Scalability

Scalability of the initial design was instrumental in achieving this, allowing design changes based on user feedback to be made quickly and cost-effectively, and ensuring consistent performance and data quality across multiple iterations during product development.