FAQ

Is it a medical device? No. exocortex is not a medical device and is not for diagnosing, treating or monitoring any condition.

Does it work? It is designed, and not yet built or measured on a head. Contact quality through hair, noise, comfort, battery life and heat are all unmeasured (design § where it stands). We will publish the measurements from the first units before any unit ships.

When does it ship? We expect to ship the first 100 by December 2027. That is an estimate from the plan, not a promise. The helmet must also be authorized by the FCC (and CE/UKCA marked for Europe) before we may deliver one. If we cannot ship by the date we gave you, we email you before that date, and you can cancel for a full refund (terms of sale § 4).

Can I cancel my pre-order? Yes, at any time before it ships, for a full refund. Email the support address on your Stripe receipt with your order number.

Can I build one myself instead? Yes. Every file is published, and ordering one helmet lists every part and every order-form option: about $2,085 for one, before shipping and import duty. The builder guide goes from the order to wearing it. You need a PETG printer and debug probes. Nobody has built one yet, so the build time is not known.

Do you sell a kit? Not now. A kit needs the same radio authorization as a finished helmet.

How many channels does it have? 1,118 contacts on 66 tiles, sampled at 500 samples a second, plus a reference and a bias contact on the hub.

Does it need gel? No. Each contact is a gold-plated spring pin that presses through the hair. Whether that works on every hair type is one of the things still to be measured.

Does it hurt? It should not, and comfort is unmeasured. Each pin presses with at most 70 g at full travel (the maker's figure), and there are 1,128 of them; the force at the working gap has not been measured. Stop if it hurts.

How long does the battery last? About 32 minutes with all five cameras streaming, about 1.7 hours with the cameras off (calculated). It charges in about 1.6 hours.

Can I wear it while it charges? No. The helmet turns off its contacts while a USB cable is plugged in, on purpose. Charge it off the head.

Where does my data go? To your own computer. The app stores the EEG, video, sound and anything you import on the computer it runs on. We do not receive it (privacy).

Does it work with my phone? A phone pairs with the computer that runs the app, and shows the stream, searches and adds its own microphone, camera and location. The helmet itself streams to the computer (app § phones and sync).

Which computers? The app runs on Linux, macOS and Windows (Node 22.18 or later, or the desktop app); a Linux build has been tested, macOS and Windows builds are configured but not yet built (app § desktop).

Can I record other people? Only as the law where you are allows. Many places require everyone's consent to record a conversation (terms of use § 4).

Is it open source? Yes: CERN-OHL-S-2.0 for the hardware, Apache-2.0 for the code, CC BY 4.0 for the docs (licences). The repository will be public at github.com/JacobFV/exocortex before the first unit ships; until then, the design files are on the build page.

Which countries do you ship to? The checkout accepts the US, Canada, the UK, the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Singapore. Delivery outside the US depends on each region's authorization; we will tell you before we charge anything further.

How do I get help? See support.