The sea is your mirror

Abstract

The Sea Is Your Mirror is an artistic interactive experience where surface cerebral electromagnetic waves from a participant wearing an EEG sensor headset are depicted in real-time as ocean waves in an animated 3D environment. The aim of this article is to describe the sea wave model used for the sea state animation and how it is connected to the brain computer interface (BCI). The sea state is animated by the groupy choppy wave model that provides nonlinear sea states with wave groups and asymmetric wave shapes. The BCI maps the temporal spectrum of the electroencephalogram onto the elevation spectrum of the sea surface. The resulting setup enables the participant to fly over a dynamic sea state: a metaphor for conscious and unconscious neurofeedback.