A Self-Adaptive Online Brain Machine Interface of a Humanoid Robot through a General Type-2 Fuzzy Inference System

This paper presents a self-adaptive general type-2 fuzzy inference system (GT2 FIS) for online motor imagery (MI) decoding to build a brain-machine interface (BMI) and navigate a bi-pedal humanoid robot in a real experiment, using EEG brain recordings only. GT2 FISs are applied to BMI for the first time in this study. We also account for several constraints commonly associated with BMI in real practice: 1) maximum number of electroencephalography (EEG) channels is limited and fixed, 2) no possibility of performing repeated user training sessions, and 3) desirable use of unsupervised and low complexity features extraction methods. The novel learning method presented in this paper consists of a self-adaptive GT2 FIS that can both incrementally update its parameters and evolve (a.k.a. self-adapt) its structure via creation, fusion and scaling of the fuzzy system rules in an online BMI experiment with a real robot. The structure identification is based on an online GT2 Gath-Geva algorithm where every MI decoding class can be represented by multiple fuzzy rules (models). The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated in a detailed BMI experiment where 15 untrained users were able to accurately interface with a humanoid robot, in a single thirty-minute experiment, using signals from six EEG electrodes only

Toward a model-based predictive controller design in brain-computer interfaces

A first step in designing a robust and optimal model-based predictive controller (MPC) for brain-computer interface (BCI) applications is presented in this article. An MPC has the potential to achieve improved BCI performance compared to the performance achieved by current ad hoc, nonmodel-based filter applications. The parameters in designing the controller were extracted as model-based features from motor imagery task-related human scalp electroencephalography. Although the parameters can be generated from any model-linear or non-linear, we here adopted a simple autoregressive model that has well-established applications in BCI task discriminations. It was shown that the parameters generated for the controller design can as well be used for motor imagery task discriminations with performance (with 8-23% task discrimination errors) comparable to the discrimination performance of the commonly used features such as frequency specific band powers and the AR model parameters directly used. An optimal MPC has significant implications for high performance BCI applications.Grants K25NS061001 (MK) and K02MH01493 (SJS) from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders And Stroke (NINDS) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) Grant SFRH/BD/21529/2005 (NSD), the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development Keystone Innovation Zone Program Fund (SJS), and the Pennsylvania Department of Health using Tobacco Settlement Fund (SJS)

A new multi-objective wrapper method for feature selection – Accuracy and stability analysis for BCI

Feature selection is an important step in building classifiers for high-dimensional data problems, such as EEG classification for BCI applications. This paper proposes a new wrapper method for feature selection, based on a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm, where the representation of the individuals or potential solutions, along with the breeding operators and objective functions, have been carefully designed to select a small subset of features that has good generalization capability, trying to avoid the over-fitting problems that wrapper methods usually suffer. A novel feature ranking procedure is also proposed in order to analyze the stability of the proposed wrapper method. Four different classification schemes have been applied within the proposed wrapper method in order to evaluate its accuracy and stability for feature selection on a real motor imagery dataset. Experimental results show that the wrapper method presented in this paper is able to obtain very small subsets of features, which are quite stable and also achieve high classification accuracy, regardless of the classifiers used.Project TIN2015-67020-P (Spanish “Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad”)European Regional Development Funds (ERDF

Hand (Motor) Movement Imagery Classification of EEG Using Takagi-Sugeno-Kang Fuzzy-Inference Neural Network

Approximately 20 million people in the United States suffer from irreversible nerve damage and would benefit from a neuroprosthetic device modulated by a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI). These devices restore independence by replacing peripheral nervous system functions such as peripheral control. Although there are currently devices under investigation, contemporary methods fail to offer adaptability and proper signal recognition for output devices. Human anatomical differences prevent the use of a fixed model system from providing consistent classification performance among various subjects. Furthermore, notoriously noisy signals such as Electroencephalography (EEG) require complex measures for signal detection. Therefore, there remains a tremendous need to explore and improve new algorithms. This report investigates a signal-processing model that is better suited for BCI applications because it incorporates machine learning and fuzzy logic. Whereas traditional machine learning techniques utilize precise functions to map the input into the feature space, fuzzy-neuro system apply imprecise membership functions to account for uncertainty and can be updated via supervised learning. Thus, this method is better equipped to tolerate uncertainty and improve performance over time. Moreover, a variation of this algorithm used in this study has a higher convergence speed. The proposed two-stage signal-processing model consists of feature extraction and feature translation, with an emphasis on the latter. The feature extraction phase includes Blind Source Separation (BSS) and the Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT), and the feature translation stage includes the Takagi-Sugeno-Kang Fuzzy-Neural Network (TSKFNN). Performance of the proposed model corresponds to an average classification accuracy of 79.4 % for 40 subjects, which is higher than the standard literature values, 75%, making this a superior model

Pattern Recognition

A wealth of advanced pattern recognition algorithms are emerging from the interdiscipline between technologies of effective visual features and the human-brain cognition process. Effective visual features are made possible through the rapid developments in appropriate sensor equipments, novel filter designs, and viable information processing architectures. While the understanding of human-brain cognition process broadens the way in which the computer can perform pattern recognition tasks. The present book is intended to collect representative researches around the globe focusing on low-level vision, filter design, features and image descriptors, data mining and analysis, and biologically inspired algorithms. The 27 chapters coved in this book disclose recent advances and new ideas in promoting the techniques, technology and applications of pattern recognition

A motor imagery based brain-computer interface system via swarm-optimized fuzzy integral and its application

© 2016 IEEE. A brain-computer interface (BCI) system provides a convenient means of communication between the human brain and a computer, which is applied not only to healthy people but also for people that suffer from motor neuron diseases (MNDs). Motor imagery (MI) is one well-known basis for designing Electroencephalography (EEG)-based real-life BCI systems. However, EEG signals are often contaminated with severe noise and various uncertainties, imprecise and incomplete information streams. Therefore, this study proposes spectrum ensemble based on swam-optimized fuzzy integral for integrating decisions from sub-band classifiers that are established by a sub-band common spatial pattern (SBCSP) method. Firstly, the SBCSP effectively extracts features from EEG signals, and thereby the multiple linear discriminant analysis (MLDA) is employed during a MI classification task. Subsequently, particle swarm optimization (PSO) is used to regulate the subject-specific parameters for assigning optimal confidence levels for classifiers used in the fuzzy integral during the fuzzy fusion stage of the proposed system. Moreover, BCI systems usually tend to have complex architectures, be bulky in size, and require time-consuming processing. To overcome this drawback, a wireless and wearable EEG measurement system is investigated in this study. Finally, in our experimental result, the proposed system is found to produce significant improvement in terms of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Furthermore, we demonstrate that a robotic arm can be reliably controlled using the proposed BCI system. This paper presents novel insights regarding the possibility of using the proposed MI-based BCI system in real-life applications

Recent Applications in Graph Theory

Graph theory, being a rigorously investigated field of combinatorial mathematics, is adopted by a wide variety of disciplines addressing a plethora of real-world applications. Advances in graph algorithms and software implementations have made graph theory accessible to a larger community of interest. Ever-increasing interest in machine learning and model deployments for network data demands a coherent selection of topics rewarding a fresh, up-to-date summary of the theory and fruitful applications to probe further. This volume is a small yet unique contribution to graph theory applications and modeling with graphs. The subjects discussed include information hiding using graphs, dynamic graph-based systems to model and control cyber-physical systems, graph reconstruction, average distance neighborhood graphs, and pure and mixed-integer linear programming formulations to cluster networks

Brain-Computer Interface

Brain-computer interfacing (BCI) with the use of advanced artificial intelligence identification is a rapidly growing new technology that allows a silently commanding brain to manipulate devices ranging from smartphones to advanced articulated robotic arms when physical control is not possible. BCI can be viewed as a collaboration between the brain and a device via the direct passage of electrical signals from neurons to an external system. The book provides a comprehensive summary of conventional and novel methods for processing brain signals. The chapters cover a range of topics including noninvasive and invasive signal acquisition, signal processing methods, deep learning approaches, and implementation of BCI in experimental problems