Shelf 06 · Start here

Your first brain-driven avatar

The most common path: a Muse headband, BrainFlowsIntoVRChat and a few avatar parameters. Expect an evening to get ears moving and a lot longer to make it dependable.
The whole pipeline

Headset to avatar in four hops

The headset streams raw EEG over Bluetooth. BrainFlow reads it and computes band power and scores. BrainFlowsIntoVRChat sends those as OSC messages to VRChat on port 9000. Your avatar's animator turns each parameter into movement.

Diagram of four boxes joined by arrows: EEG headset, then BrainFlow on your PC, then OSC to port 9000, then avatar parameters moving a pair of ears.
Every hop adds latency. Focus and relax scores are smoothed over seconds, so expect moods, not reflexes.
Five steps

Set it up

Step 1

Pick a headset

A Muse 2 or Muse S is the well-trodden path. Anything BrainFlow supports will work. Check it sits comfortably under your VR strap before you commit.

Step 2

Install the bridge

Install Python, clone BrainFlowsIntoVRChat, and run it with your board's BrainFlow id. The README lists every option.

BrainFlowsIntoVRChat
Step 3

Turn on OSC in VRChat

Enable OSC from the action menu. VRChat listens on 9000 and sends on 9001.

Step 4

Add avatar parameters

Add the parameters you want, such as the focus and relax floats, to your avatar in Unity, then drive blend trees or animations from them. Start with one: ears are traditional.

Step 5

Tune with the log

Use the debug and logging options to watch real values while you work, then shape your animations to the range your head actually produces.

Read before you buy

What to expect

Artefacts

Check it's really your brain

Clench your jaw and raise your eyebrows while watching the values. If they jump, you are seeing muscle. Relax your face before you trust a reading.

Calibration

Retrain often

Thought-command classifiers are personal and drift between sessions. Retrain when accuracy drops, and keep commands few and distinct.

Privacy

Mind what you stream

Synced avatar parameters go to everyone in the instance, and the animations they drive are visible to all. Your focus and relax values are on show.

Safety

Not a medical device

Nothing on this site is medical advice, and no project listed here is a medical device. Consumer EEG cannot diagnose anything, and a focus score is not a measure of your health or ability.

Flicker warning: SSVEP projects work by flashing targets at fixed frequencies. Flashing light can trigger seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy, and VR makes the stimulus harder to look away from. Don't run SSVEP builds if you or anyone watching may be photosensitive.

Roll call

Built one?

If you've got an avatar moving from your own brain signals, press the button. Nothing about you is recorded except the click.

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