EEG-based Computer Control Interface for Brain-Machine Interaction

Abstract

Recently more and more research methods are available to observe brain activity; for instance, Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), Positron Emission Tomography (PET), Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS), Electroencephalograph (EEG) or Magnetoencephalography (MEG), which provide new research opportunities for several applications. For example, control methods based on the evaluation of measurable signals of human brain activity. In the past few years, more mobile EEG (electroencephalogram) based brain activity biosensor and signal processing devices have become available not only for medical examinations, but also to be used in different scopes; for instance, in control applications. These methods provide completely new possibilities in human-machine interactions by digital signal processing of brain signals. In this study, the program model, the establishment, the implementation and the test results of the quantitative EEG-based computer control interface, protocol and digital signal processing application are demonstrated. The user-friendly visualization of the evaluated brain wave signals is implemented in visual C# object-oriented language. This EEG-based control unit and interface provides an adequate basis for further research in different fields of brain-machine control methods regarding the examination of possible machine control applications.