Developing a home-based functional application for an EEG-based brain computer interface

Abstract

The brain computer interface (BCI) offers users the potential to gain increased access to environment, particularly those with physical disability or impairment. This technology has attracted focus from many disciplines due to its promising applications such as environmental control, robotic or neuroprosthetic control, gaming, physical rehabilitation and vocational enhancement, not to mention the range of medical benefits offered by this technology. Despite optimistic expectations for the BCI, this technology has largely been confined to the laboratory. Recent developments over the past few years have seen the production of commercial BCIs intended for general user use. Nevertheless, the presence of such devices raises questions of reliability, cost-effectiveness, user-friendliness, and compactness for the in-home user. This research found that commercial BCIs do enable usable signal acquisition of raw brain waves. Nevertheless, these systems are limited in terms of spatial resolution, and feature extraction and translation. Results show that two commercially available BCIs in particular offer promising results for the user with moderate to severe physical disability. A suitable imagined music application can be derived using a mix of in-built SDK algorithms, independent signal processing, open sound control and Pure Data for real time processing of brain signals.