non-invasive · EEG · shipping
Cyton Biosensing Board (8 ch)
By OpenBCI
Identity
- Manufacturer
- OpenBCI
- Model number
- —
- Codename
- —
- Aliases
- Cyton Board, OpenBCI Cyton
- Generation
- —
- Country of origin
- US
- Released
- —
- Announced
- —
- Discontinued
- —
- Status
- shipping
Classification
- Invasiveness
- non-invasive
- Modalities
- EEG, EMG, ECG, EOG
- Primary modality
- EEG
- Direction
- read
- Categories
- research-grade, developer-kit, education
- Form factor
- modular
- Use cases
- EEG research, EMG prosthetic control, ECG monitoring, BCI prototyping, education
- Target users
- neuroscience-researcher, developer, student, educator
Electrodes
- Total channels
- 8
- Recording channels
- 8
- Reference channels
- —
- Electrode type
- —
- Material
- —
- 10-20 positions
- —
- Requires gel
- —
- Requires saline
- —
- Prep time
- —
- Reusable
- —
- Disposable
- —
Auxiliary sensors
- IMU
- No
- IMU axes
- —
- Accelerometer
- Yes
- Gyroscope
- No
- Magnetometer
- No
- PPG (heart rate)
- No
- ECG
- No
- EMG
- No
- EOG
- No
- EDA / GSR
- No
- Temperature
- No
- Respiration
- No
- Microphone
- No
- Eye tracking
- No
Signal acquisition
- Sampling rate
- 250 Hz
- ADC resolution
- 24 bit
- Notch filters
- —
- Onboard artifact rejection
- —
Stimulation
- Capable
- No
Connectivity
- Protocols
- proprietary-rf, bluetooth-le
- Bluetooth
- —
- Bluetooth profiles
- —
- Concurrent mode
- single-only
- Encryption (transit)
- —
- Pairing methods
- —
- Cloud sync
- No
- Offline recording
- Yes
Power
- Sources
- rechargeable-li-po, replaceable-aa
- Battery life (active)
- —
- Charging port
- —
- Charging time
- —
- Battery replaceable
- Yes
- Notes
- Powered by 3–6V DC battery only. Shop bundle ships with lithium battery + charger; AA-pack accessory available separately.
Physical
- Weight
- —
- Dimensions
- 2.41 in L × 2.41 in W
- Materials
- fr4-pcb
- Sizes
- —
- Head circumference
- —
- Operating temp
- —
Compute
- Has onboard computer
- No
- Operating systems
- —
- Primary OS
- —
- Edge ML accelerator
- No
- Root access
- unrestricted
- App sandbox
- No
- 3rd-party apps allowed
- Yes
- Notes
- PIC32MX250F128B microcontroller (chipKIT UDB32-MX2-DIP bootloader) plus a Texas Instruments ADS1299 analog front end. Open firmware, anyone can re-flash.
Software & data
- Mobile app
- No
- Cloud platform
- No
- Offline mode
- Yes
- Subscription required
- No
- Raw data access
- Yes
- Export formats
- —
- LSL support
- —
- Data ownership
- user
- Apps
- OpenBCI GUI
SDK & developer access
- Has SDK
- Yes
- Open source
- Yes
- Languages
- —
- Web Bluetooth
- —
- Raw sample access
- Yes
- BCI paradigms
- —
- 3rd-party integrations
- —
- Docs
- docs.openbci.com
Capabilities
- Attention / focus
- —
- Meditation / calm
- —
- Neurofeedback
- —
- Meditation coaching
- —
- Sleep tracking
- —
Security
- Authentication factors
- none
- Per-user profiles
- No
- Requires account
- No
- Claiming methods
- none
- Ownership model
- single-owner
- Activation lock
- No
- Remote lock
- No
- Remote wipe
- No
- Find my device
- No
- Notes
- Open research board with no authentication, no claiming flow, and no secure boot. Anyone with USB access can re-flash the firmware — by design.
Firmware & updates
- OTA supported
- No
- OTA transports
- —
- Update mechanism
- manual-cable, full-image
- Update channels
- —
- Rollback supported
- —
- Signed updates
- No
- Forced updates
- No
- User deferrable
- —
- Requires app companion
- —
- Average update frequency
- —
- Notes
- Firmware is updated by flashing the PIC32 over the OpenBCI USB dongle using OpenBCI FirmwareUpdater. Source lives on the OpenBCI GitHub org; community forks are common.
Regulatory & clinical
- FDA status
- none
- CE mark
- —
- Certifications
- —
- Prescription required
- No
- Pediatric approved
- —
Pricing & availability
- MSRP
- $1,249
- Current price
- $1,249
- Subscription
- —
- Warranty
- —
- Return policy (days)
- —
- Where to buy
- Buy at shop.openbci.com
Media & links
- Official site
- openbci.com
- Product page
- shop.openbci.com
Editor’s take
In favor
- Fully open-source: hardware, firmware, GUI, SDKs
- Research-grade 24-bit ADS1299 amplifier at consumer pricing
- Massive 3rd-party ecosystem (BrainFlow, LSL, OpenViBE, MNE, etc.)
- Modular: Cyton ↔ Daisy ↔ WiFi shield ↔ Ultracortex headset
Against
- Electrodes / headset / dongle sold separately — total cost climbs quickly
- No FDA clearance; explicitly not a medical device
- Requires technical setup — not consumer-friendly out of the box
Sources & provenance
- OpenBCI Shop — Cyton 8-channel Biosensing Board
- OpenBCI Docs — Cyton Spec Overview
- OpenBCI Docs — Cyton landing page
- OpenBCI Kickstarter — original 32-bit board
- Wikipedia — OpenBCI
- TI ADS1299 product page
Last reviewed