Hypersync
Mentalab Hypersync provides highly accurate wireless synchronization with a timing accuracy of approximately ±1 sample. It is the recommended method for precise event marking and multimodal synchronization.
What is Hypersync?
Hypersync is Mentalab’s implementation of a wireless synchronization protocol built on the Lab Streaming Layer (LSL) framework. It ensures that EEG/ExG recordings from Explore devices are aligned in time with external data sources, such as:
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Stimulus presentation software (e.g., PsychoPy, Presentation).
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Other biosignal devices (e.g., EMG, ECG, eye tracking).
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Motion capture systems or VR headsets.
Unlike manual triggers alone, Hypersync guarantees that all participating devices share a common clock, reducing temporal drift.
How it Works
Each Explore amplifier publishes its data to the LSL stream on the host computer. Hypersync continuously aligns these streams to a global timeline, correcting for jitter and drift. Triggers sent via software or hardware are timestamped against the same synchronized clock, allowing precise alignment across modalities.
When to Use Hypersync
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Multimodal studies: combining EEG with motion capture, eye tracking, or physiological signals.
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Stimulus-locked protocols: experiments where reaction time or ERP analysis requires millisecond precision.
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Multi-amplifier setups: recording from more than one Explore unit simultaneously.
Benefits
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High temporal precision compared to manual synchronization.
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Fully compatible with Mentalab software (Explore Desktop, explorepy) and third-party tools supporting LSL.
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Works wirelessly, no additional cabling required between devices.
What you need for Hypersync
To ensure Hypersync operates correctly, each Mentalab device must be equipped with a Hypersync receiver dongle. A single Hypersync sender dongle is required at the host computer. Each device requires its own data collection system for streaming. We provide dedicated smartphones (“study phones”) and mentioned dongles for this purpose.