Can Brain Computer Interfaces Become Practical Assistive Devices in the Community?

PJ McCullagh, Melanie Ware, Maurice Mulvenna, Gaye Lightbody, CD Nugent, HG McAllister

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)
54 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

A Brain Computer Interface (BCI) provides direct communi-cation from the brain to a computer or electronic device. In order for BCIs to become practical assistive devices it is nec-essary to develop robust systems, which can be used outside of the laboratory. This paper appraises the technical challenges, and outlines the design of an intuitive user interface, which can be used for smart device control and entertainment appli-cations, of specific interest to users. We adopted a user-centred approach, surveying two groups of participants: fif-teen volunteers who could use BCI as an additional technol-ogy and six users with complex communication and assistive technology needs. Interaction is based on a four way choice, parsing a hierarchical menu structure which allows selection of room location and then device (e.g. light, television) within a smart home. The interface promotes ease of use which aim to improve the BCI communication rate.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationUnknown Host Publication
PublisherIOS Press
Number of pages5
Publication statusPublished (in print/issue) - 12 Sept 2010
EventMedinfo 2010 - Cape Town, South Africa
Duration: 12 Sept 2010 → …
https://www.brain-project.org/

Conference

ConferenceMedinfo 2010
Period12/09/10 → …
Internet address

Bibliographical note

Reference text: [1] Bauby JD. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of
Life in Death. Jeremy Leggatt (Translator), Vintage Books;
1st Vintage International edition (Aug 1998).
[2] Harnessing the Power of the Brain, CBS news, “60 minutes”,
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/31/60minutes/ma
in4560940.shtml, accessed Oct 2009.
[3] Nijholt A, BCI for Games: A ‘State of the Art’ Survey,
Springer Berlin / Heidelberg, Lecture Notes in Computer
Science, 2009.
[4] Wolpaw JR, Birbaumer N, McFarland FJ, Pfurtscheller G,
Vaughan TM, Brain-computer interfaces for communication
and control Clinical Neurophysiology, Vol. 113, No.
6. (June 2002), 767-791.
[5] Allison BZ, Wolpaw EW, Wolpaw AR. Brain-computer
interface systems: progress and prospects. Expert review of
medical devices 2007 4(4), 463-474.
[6] Nugent CD, Augusto JC (eds) Smart Homes and Beyond
ICOST 2006 Volume 19 Assistive Technology Research
Series June 2006, IOS press, The Netherlands.
[7] BCIs with Rapid Automated Interfaces for Nonexperts
(BRAIN, FP7-ICT-2007-2, Project number 224156),
https://www.brain-project.org/, accessed Oct 2009.
[8] Allison BZ. The I of BCIs: Next Generation Interfaces for
Brain–Computer Interface Systems That Adapt to Individual
Users in: Human-Computer Interaction. Novel Interaction
Methods and Techniques, Lecture Notes in Computer
Science, Springer Berlin / Heidelberg, 2009.
[9] Mason SG, Bashashati A, Fatourechi M, Navarro K.F,
Birch GE. A Comprehensive Survey of Brain Interface
Technology Designs, Annuals of Biomedical Engineering,
Vol 35, No. 2, Feb 2007 137-169.
[10] Schalk G, McFarland DJ, Hinterberger T, Birbaumer N,
Wolpaw JR. BCI2000: A General-Purpose Brain-
Computer Interface (BCI) System’, IEEE Trans. On Biomedical
Engineering, 51(6,) 1034-1043, June 2004.
[11] Blankertz B, Losch F, Krauledat M, Dornhege G, Curio
G, Müller KR. The Berlin Brain--Computer Interface: accurate
performance from first-session in BCI-naïve subjects.
IEEE transactions on bio-medical engineering, 2008
55(10.), 2452-2462.
[12] Friman O, Luth T, Volosyak I, Graser A. Spelling with
Steady-State Visual Evoked Potentials, Proceedings of the
3rd International IEEE EMBS Conference on Neural Engineering
Kohala Coast, Hawaii, USA, May 2-5, 2007.
[13] Millan J. Adaptive Brain Interfaces. Communications of
the ACM, March 2003, Vol. 46, No. 3, pp75-80.
[14] Piccini L, Parini S, Maggi L, Andreoni G A Wearable
Home BCI system: preliminary results with SSVEP protocol,
Proceedings of the 2005 IEEE Engineering in Medicine
and Biology 27th Annual Conference Shanghai, China,
September 1-4, 2005
[15] Garcia-Molina G, Ibañez D, Mihajlovic V, Chestakov D.
Spatial filters for Detecting Steady State Visual Evoked
Potentials Journal Biomedizinische Technik / Biomedical
Engineering, 2009.

Keywords

  • Assistive technology
  • brain-computer interface
  • user centred design
  • graphical user interface

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Can Brain Computer Interfaces Become Practical Assistive Devices in the Community?'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this