Brain Data in Clojure 2: BrainFloj in Premise and Practice - Lyons

An introduction to BrainFloj, a Clojure library for real-time EEG signal processing and brain-computer interface development.

Human-computer interaction is a continually evolving domain stemming from our roots in mechanical forms of computing historically. This evolution has manifested in several well-known areas such as AI, social-networking, cloud computing, etc; but one frontier remains uniquely opaque: BCIs. Often shrouded in sci-fi mystique, BCIs seem intimidating, inaccessible, or just too complex. BCI development can seem like a daunting or even impossible field to break into or contribute meaningfully to. This talk explores how that perception can change - with Clojure. The tools to interact with our own brain signals are already within reach, and more accessible than many consider. In this talk, I’ll introduce BrainFloj, a new Clojure library built atop BrainFlow for real-time EEG signal processing and neural interaction. BrainFloj brings Clojure into the BCI world, and vice-versa - wave-signature classification, and application development on top of standardized recording file formats. I’ll demonstrate how developers can interact with live EEG signals, create custom brain-based macros, and even play a round of brain-controlled Pong. Whether you're a Clojure veteran or just curious about brain-computer interfacing, this talk aims to expand your notion of what programming can be—by turning thought itself into a valid form of input. Biography Lorelai is a longtime enthusiast of brain-computer interface (BCI) technology. With a background in music and philosophy, her work explores the deep questions behind human-computer symbiosis. While working with Clojure, she found her calling in developing novel tooling for BCI experimentation, culminating in the creation of BrainFloj, a Clojure wrapper and expansion around the BrainFlow Java API. BrainFloj represents the first comprehensive Clojure wrapper for real-time EEG data streaming and app-development. Given a decreasing barrier to entry, BCIs have potential to universally replace/augment current mobile and desktop computing markets, making public dialogue about their ethical, epistemological, and metaphysical implications increasingly urgent. This presentation follows two previous talks exploring BCI and Clojure: the first covering mathematical and scientific foundations, the second addressing motivation and ethics. This third talk delivers the technical implementation details programmers would want to know to to get started using brainfloj in a real project. Lorelai is active in the clojure community, as a part of Clojurists Together, and community efforts like SciCloj and Clojure Camp to bring people into clojure development. She continues to advocate for interdisciplinary collaboration in open-source spaces. Through BrainFloj and related projects, Lorelai hopes to inspire developers to explore this powerful, emerging frontier. Recorded on Nov 14, 2025 in Charlotte, NC at Clojure/Conj 2025.