Cerebral Interfaces to Control the Computer by Thought

An adaptive interface that improves the performance of existing computer control devices has been designed by Carmen Vidaurre Arbizu, an engineer from Pamplona. This assistive technology solution enhances the control that users have over the interface, as both systems are highly interdependent.

A cerebral interface or brain-computer interface (BCI) enables users with communication problems to communicate with their surroundings using a computer and the electrophysiological signals from the brain. Though there are other interfaces that use signals recorded from electrodes fitted directly into the brain, Carmen Vidaurre worked with an interface based on electroencephalograms (EEG) of an individual.

The outdated systems of the past could not supply feedback when a non-experienced individual used a BCI. Users and researchers found the old system problematic as the patterns generated during the trial sessions were quite different to those sessions with feedback. Inexperienced users found it hard to generate stationary patterns in time.

The assistive technology solution was designed to provide an adaptive system interface that can be effectively used by novice individuals also. With this system, the interface and the individual adjust to each other. This eliminates the need for initial trial sessions without feedback. This saves the total skills acquisition time and enables individuals to find an operating strategy directly with feedback.

Experiments proved that majority of the population lacking experience easily learned to control an adaptive BCI. The trials conducted with 30 persons in Austria and Pamplona revealed that 20 were able to successfully control the interface with only four hours of training.

The interface consists of four modules that take charge of the acquisition and pre-processing of the signal, the extraction of its characteristics, the classification of the signal in the various patterns the interface possesses, and the feedback.

Source: Navarra University