Biosignals PRO: A Modular Multimodal Platform for Everyday Biosignal Acquisition
1. Solution Overview
We propose Biosignals PRO, PLUX's advanced multimodal biosignal acquisition hub, as the base system for the Biosignals-HUB pilot study.
Biosignals PRO is designed for exactly this kind of multi-sensor use case, both in the lab and on the go, supporting up to 10 sensors in parallel over Bluetooth 5.3 BLE (WiFi and USB in development).
The hardware currently supports the following sensors relevant to this challenge:
Electroencephalography (EEG)
9-axis Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU)
Photoplethysmography (PPG)
An fNIRS sensor for forehead measurements is currently in industrialization (see Open Points).
Software and API: Biosignals PRO is controlled through Biosignals Studio, PLUX's acquisition and visualization software, and through a documented API for direct integration into custom pipelines.
PLUX can make the API available to the project team, so the hub can be integrated into your own workflows. Biosignals Studio would be made available for day to day use: regular recordings, troubleshooting, and configuration without engineering effort, especially useful in the project's early stages.
2. Open Points
Two aspects of the "Gewünschtes Ergebnis" are not fully covered, and we want to be upfront rather than overstate the fit:
fNIRS: currently in industrialization, supporting forehead and prefrontal placement only, not the high density configuration described. The brief does not specify a target channel count, so we'd welcome a conversation about the study's actual needs.
Onboard microphone and speaker: not built into the hub. Our proposed solution is a companion smartphone app using the phone's own mic and speaker for audio capture, feedback, and notifications, timestamped and synced to the hub via the API.
3. Answers to the Challenge Questions
1. System concept and technical architecture
The Biosignals PRO hub is the synchronization backbone. EEG, IMU, and PPG sensors connect as smart or analog sensors, each timestamped centrally.
Audio is captured via the companion app on the participant's smartphone, synced to the hub's timeline via the API rather than embedded in the wearable. Data transmits over BLE 5.3 to a paired device running Biosignals Studio or a custom API client, then uploaded to the study's backend.
2. Robustness in everyday use
Motion context: All sensors have an integrated motion sensor computing a motion score metric alongside the primary signal, giving contextual movement information at each sample for quality control and artifact identification, without a separate reference sensor.
Connection reliability: A backup and sync mode stores samples on the hub's microSD card if Bluetooth packets are lost, syncing them back once the connection is restored, so no data is lost to intermittent connectivity. For full Bluetooth independence, the hub can also record directly to the microSD card only.
Configurable sensor front end: Smart sensors are software-configurable, including front end adjustments like acquisition bandwidth and sensor-specific characteristics such as fNIRS optical sensitivity, tuning the setup to the study's needs without different hardware.
3. Usability and User Experience
Electrode flexibility: Sensors support both dry and gelled electrodes, balancing signal quality and setup speed per session type.
Ease of placement: Sensors are designed for easy placement on the body, reducing setup time and required expertise.
Setup presets and auto-detection: Sensor setups can be stored on the device for quick retakes or new recordings with preconfigured settings. Biosignals PRO also auto-detects connected sensors and loads the corresponding preconfiguration for each, removing manual setup steps.
4. Scalability and Production
We can scale production to meet a 500 unit order, but this depends on the project timeline, which is not specified in the challenge brief. We would align on delivery milestones and phasing directly with the lab before committing to a production schedule and cost structure.
5. Power and Operation
Biosignals PRO supports up to 10 hours of continuous recording, comfortably covering a full day of field data collection between charges.
