Accessing Tele-Services Using a Hybrid BCI Approach

Brain Computer Interface (BCI) technology has achieved limited success outside of laboratory conditions. This technology is hindered by practical considerations of set up, lack of robustness and low Information Transfer Rate (ITR). There are two interfaces in a BCI system: the brain’s interface with the computer and the computer-environment interface, which provides access to applications for the user. Three user services were implemented: control of the smart home, entertainment and communication. These may be accessed through a graphical user interface controlled by a BCI. The paper contrasts the performance of an SSVEP based system with a hybrid BCI comprising eye gaze and muscle response (measured at the scalp). The hybrid developed utilizes the EPOC for recording electrical potential and an EyeTribe gaze tracker; these can be combined to provide more robust interaction with applications. Average ITR for the eye tracker and hybrid approaches (190-200 bpm) are higher than for our SSVEP approach (approx. 15 bpm), for the same applications. The poor performance of our SSVEP system was due to the temporal duration of the stimulation (7s) and partly because not all participants could achieve an accuracy of greater than 50%. The current challenge is the replacement of the scalp recorded muscle component with a reliable user modifiable EEG measure.