Wearable 4- or 8-channel EEG; humans, horses, dogs and cats
Unicorn BCI Core-8 is a 24-bit, 8-channel EEG and BCI device, designed to be versatile and easy to use. It snaps magnetically onto base stations suited to recording humans, dogs, horses or other subjects. Gold Cup electrodes are light and small, ideal for sleep recordings and for placing between animal fur; eight-pin g.SAHARA hybrid electrodes record dry or with gel and reach through hair and fur. Data stream into g.HIsys for real-time processing, visualisation and storage, and the g.Pype SDK, for macOS and Windows, offers EEG signal processing, visualisation and feature extraction in Python.
Unicorn BCI Core-8 is an acquisition unit that records 8 EEG channels at 24-bit resolution and keeps a seamless Bluetooth 5 connection. The Unicorn BCI Core Base connects the amplifier to the base station and the electrodes for stable signal transmission, and is also the power control unit that switches the device on and off.
The base station for the hybrid electrodes fixes to the cap with a magnetic holder; the electrodes sit in set positions on the cap. Their conductive material records dry (a fast set-up) or with gel (higher performance). Caps come in several sizes for humans, horses and dogs.
The Gold Cup base station has 4 or 8 channels plus ground and reference; Unicorn BCI Core-8 snaps magnetically onto either base station, so the number of electrodes is chosen to suit the application. The light Gold Cup electrodes are ideal for sleep recordings and flexible placement between animal fur; held in place with sticky electrode paste, they reduce artefacts and give higher-quality data.
24-bit ADC resolution and a high oversampling rate raise the signal-to-noise ratio for the best digitisation. A light, high-performance Li-ion battery records for up to 6 hours and charges over USB.
Freely available EEG datasets recorded with Unicorn BCI Core-8 are in g.tec's GitHub repository in CSV and BDF: resting-state, auditory evoked potential and visual evoked potential paradigms, with raw and filtered recordings, example plots and scalp topographies.
Electromagnetic interference can distort EEG and make much of a recording unusable; worse, a device that interferes with other products can endanger people. That is why Unicorn BCI Core-8 and all its components are EMC-tested and meet international standards. It is made with eco-friendly practices and complies with the RoHS Directive; g.tec's offices run on 100% renewable energy.
With Unicorn BCI Core-8, g.tec Suite 2024 sets up EEG experiments quickly and flexibly; data go in real time to g.HIsys Basic or Professional to be visualised, stored and processed. The rapid prototyping environment and its many Simulink models support BCI, EEG, EMG and ECG experiments. The device fixes to the Unicorn Cap with its magnetic base, and g.SAHARA hybrid electrodes record dry or with gel.
Unicorn BCI Core-8 with hybrid EEG electrodes and the Unicorn Unity Bandpower Interface are an ideal pair for Android-based VR games on platforms such as Meta Quest: real-time brainwave input goes into Unity, players control by thought, and developers learn about cognitive load and emotional responses.
Unicorn BCI Core-8 monitors cognition, stress, emotional regulation, learning, pain perception, sleep and responses to human interaction in horses. With g.tec Suite 2024 it helps optimise training, improve welfare and design desensitisation strategies for stimulus-rich settings, and allows EEG monitoring during surgery.
Used with sticky paste, Unicorn Gold Cup electrodes stay secure between animal fur and collect high-quality data; brain activity related to cognition, stress, emotional regulation, learning and pain perception is monitored in horses.
Unicorn BCI Core-8 records dogs' brain activity non-invasively and in real time, helping to understand how they process information and respond to stimuli. With g.tec Suite 2024 it gives reliable data for training methods suited to dogs' cognitive strengths, supporting their roles in therapy and service work.
Unicorn BCI Core-8 lets researchers study how cats perceive their surroundings, process information and respond to stimuli. With g.tec Suite 2024 it gives high-precision EEG, and custom experiments in Python give full control over stimulus presentation, data analysis and experiment flow.
Included in g.tec Suite 2024, Unicorn BCI Core Recorder acquires, visualises and records EEG with predefined notch and band-pass filters. Recordings are saved as CSV or BDF and streamed to other applications over LSL or UDP.
Unicorn BCI Core-8's data go in real time to g.HIsys Basic or Professional. EEG recorded with the Recorder streams over LSL to g.HIsys Professional, where the OSCAR LIVE artefact removal add-on can run during live measurements. The rapid prototyping environment has hundreds of blocks and Simulink models for evoked potentials, BCI, EEG, EMG and ECG.
A Unity plug-in for Unicorn BCI Core devices: it computes band power in real time and makes band-power-based BCI games and applications easy to build. Neurofeedback applications deploy to Windows, macOS, Android, iOS and Android-based headsets such as Meta Quest.
g.Pype is a Python software development kit for building BCI applications with Unicorn BCI Core-8: a node-based interface for acquisition, signal processing and visualisation sets up real-time pipelines quickly, and your own Python code slots in. It works on Windows and macOS, installs with pip, is free for personal use and comes with ready-made examples and documentation. g.Pype Runtime is a standalone background processing layer for deploying g.Pype applications commercially.
Johannes Grünwald shows how Python can be used in neuroscience to analyse, visualise and process neural data: open-source tools and custom workflows that ease data handling and enable real-time analysis in research.
g.tec's video on Python for neuroscience.
Unicorn BCI Core-8 was mounted on Merlin the alpaca's halter and connected to a base station with 4 Gold Cup electrodes fixed between the fur. EEG was recorded with BCI Core Recorder and streamed over LSL to g.HIsys, where OSCAR LIVE corrected movement artefacts in real time.
g.tec's EEG video with Merlin the alpaca.
Four small Gold Cup electrodes on the head reach through the alpaca's fur to touch the skin, so clean EEG is recorded while it eats and moves its head.
g.tec's EEG video with Merlin the alpaca.
Merlin's eyes were gently closed to bring out alpha activity. EEG streamed from BCI Core Recorder over LSL to g.HIsys and was cleaned in real time by OSCAR LIVE.
g.tec's EEG video with Merlin the alpaca.
Unicorn BCI Core-8 was fixed to the cow's halter and connected to a base station with 4 Gold Cup electrodes on the head; EEG was recorded while the cow moved.
g.tec's EEG video with a cow.
While the cow ate, EEG was recorded with BCI Core Recorder and streamed over LSL to g.HIsys; OSCAR LIVE removed movement artefacts in real time.
g.tec's EEG video with a cow.
The cow was recorded with its eyes closed to bring out alpha waves. The small electrodes reached through the fur for good contact and clean EEG.
g.tec's EEG video with a cow.
Unicorn BCI Core-8 was fixed to Hugo the goat's neck and connected to a base station with 4 Gold Cup electrodes on the head. Despite strong, sudden movement, OSCAR LIVE corrected the EEG instantly.
g.tec's EEG video with Hugo the goat.
Hugo was recorded while walking; the small electrodes kept stable skin contact for reliable EEG during movement.
g.tec's EEG video with Hugo the goat.
Unicorn BCI Core-8 was fixed to Lotti the pig's back and connected to a base station with 4 Gold Cup electrodes on the head; clean brain signals were recorded during movement.
g.tec's EEG video with Lotti the pig.
Lotti was recorded while sitting calmly. EEG streamed from BCI Core Recorder over LSL to g.HIsys and was cleaned in real time by OSCAR LIVE.
g.tec's EEG video with Lotti the pig.
Brain research is no longer limited to humans or laboratory rodents. Advances in non-invasive neurotechnology make it possible to study the brain activity of a far wider range of animals. Here alpacas stand out as a fascinating candidate, thanks to their calm temperament, their unique physiology and their growing role in veterinary studies.
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What happens when a dress moves with your brainwaves? In her third collaboration with g.tec, Anouk Wipprecht’s ScreenDress brings neurotechnology to the catwalk — and proves that the brain is not only a control centre but also a canvas.
Read the articleTalk to our team about device selection, protocol design, installation and software integration. We will work out the technical configuration that best fits your research or clinical goal.
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