How to Start

Open the lab, flash once, connect, put it on, build. Everything happens in one browser tab at octobridge.pieeg.com (opens in a new tab).

How to start with the OctoBio Kit

Gather the kit

The box has both devices. You add the power bank and the computer. See What's in the Box.

Open the lab in Chrome or Edge

Go to octobridge.pieeg.com (opens in a new tab) in desktop Chrome or Edge. The lab needs Web Bluetooth and Web Serial, which only those browsers have.

No account, no install. The Bluetooth and USB connections stay in the tab; nothing is uploaded to a PiEEG server.

Page	What you do
Home	What you can read, what you can move, ready mixes
Flash	Put firmware on the boards. First time only.
1 · Connect	Pair the Octopus 16 and/or the starter kit
2 · Board	Live numbers, lights, motor and screen
3 · Blocks	Stack a program and run it
4 · Learn	What a reading is allowed to mean
5 · Write	The same program, written like a page
6 · Repeat	Six ready machines to run and remix

Flash the firmware once

Open Flash (opens in a new tab), plug each board in with a USB data cable and install its firmware from the browser. No Arduino IDE. You only do this the first time.

Full instructions: Firmware Flashing.

Connect both devices

Open Connect (opens in a new tab). Both devices stay live at once. Skip a device you don't have: its numbers stay still until it's connected.

Power the Octopus 16 from the power bank, then choose Octopus-16-XXXX in the Bluetooth picker.
Plug the starter kit into the computer and choose its port in the serial picker.
When the port opens, the kit restarts. Wait until its status says live. The kit answers at 115200 baud with:

INF protocol=1 ready

Put on the Octopus 16, on battery only

Strap the Octopus 16 over the back of the head (the visual cortex) so alpha shows up clearly. Press it straight down so every pin touches the scalp.

Octopus 16 worn over the back of the head, with the power bank

🚫

The board has no isolation from its power supply. While it's on a head, it runs from the power bank only, never plugged into a computer or a wall charger.

Power source	While worn
5 V power bank	✅ Safe. No path to the mains.
Laptop USB	❌ Not while worn. USB is only for flashing, with the board off the head.
Wall charger	❌ Never. It connects the person to the mains through the electrodes.

Check the signal

On Board (opens in a new tab), look for the EEG ok check: RMS between 2 and 200 µV. Then run two quick tests. If they behave as described, you're reading real biosignals.

Test	What you should see
EEG ok is green	RMS between 2 and 200 µV
Close your eyes for 10 seconds	Alpha rises, then drops when the eyes open
Blink and clench the jaw	RMS and gamma jump, then settle
Sit still for the first run	Movement shifts the pins

A blink or a jaw clench raises RMS and gamma. That's muscle, not a thought, and a good first lesson.

Build with blocks

Open Blocks (opens in a new tab), stack forever, if, wait and a move, and press Run. The program runs live and sends commands to the kit, so there's no compiling and no second sketch to flash.

forever
  if  alpha is high
      light D10 on
  else
      light D10 off

Eyes closed → alpha rises → the LED turns on.

Start with Follow the knob: it needs no headset. Then try a ready mix from Repeat, or the Lessons.

What's in the Box Firmware Flashing