Games and Brain-Computer Interfaces: The State of the Art

BCI gaming is a very young field; most games are proof-of-concepts. Work that compares BCIs in a game environments with traditional BCIs indicates no negative effects, or even a positive effect of the rich visual environments on the performance. The low transfer-rate of current games poses a problem for control of a game. This is often solved by changing the goal of the game. Multi-modal input with BCI forms an promising solution, as does assigning more meaningful functionality to BCI control

Data S1: Data

We present the evaluation of two well-known, low-cost consumer-grade EEG devices: the Emotiv EPOC and the Neurosky MindWave. Problems with using the consumer-grade EEG devices (BCI illiteracy, poor technical characteristics, and adverse EEG artefacts) are discussed. The experimental evaluation of the devices, performed with 10 subjects asked to perform concentration/relaxation and blinking recognition tasks, is given. The results of statistical analysis show that both devices exhibit high variability and non-normality of attention and meditation data, which makes each of them difficult to use as an input to control tasks. BCI illiteracy may be a significant problem, as well as setting up of the proper environment of the experiment. The results of blinking recognition show that using the Neurosky device means recognition accuracy is less than 50%, while the Emotiv device has achieved a recognition accuracy of more than 75%; for tasks that require concentration and relaxation of subjects, the Emotiv EPOC device has performed better (as measured by the recognition accuracy) by ∼9%. Therefore, the Emotiv EPOC device may be more suitable for control tasks using the attention/meditation level or eye blinking than the Neurosky MindWave device

Characterizing Computer Access Using a One-Channel EEG Wireless Sensor

This work studies the feasibility of using mental attention to access a computer. Brain activity was measured with an electrode placed at the Fp1 position and the reference on the left ear; seven normally developed people and three subjects with cerebral palsy (CP) took part in the experimentation. They were asked to keep their attention high and low for as long as possible during several trials. We recorded attention levels and power bands conveyed by the sensor, but only the first was used for feedback purposes. All of the information was statistically analyzed to find the most significant parameters and a classifier based on linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was also set up. In addition, 60% of the participants were potential users of this technology with an accuracy of over 70%. Including power bands in the classifier did not improve the accuracy in discriminating between the two attentional states. For most people, the best results were obtained by using only the attention indicator in classification. Tiredness was higher in the group with disabilities (2.7 in a scale of 3) than in the other (1.5 in the same scale); and modulating the attention to access a communication board requires that it does not contain many pictograms (between 4 and 7) on screen and has a scanning period of a relatively high tscan 10 s. The information transfer rate (ITR) is similar to the one obtained by other brain computer interfaces (BCI), like those based on sensorimotor rhythms (SMR) or slow cortical potentials (SCP), and makes it suitable as an eye-gaze independent BCI

Applications of electroencephalography in construction

A wearable electroencephalogram (EEG) is considered a means for investigating psychophysiological conditions of individuals in the workplace in order to ameliorate occupational health and safety. Following other sectors, construction scholars have adopted this technology over the past decade to strengthen evidence-based practices to improve the wellbeing of workers. This study presents the state-of-the-art hardware, algorithms, and applications of EEG as a platform that assists in dealing with the risk-prone and complex nature of construction tasks. After summarizing the background of EEG and its research paradigms in different sectors, a comprehensive review of EEG-enabled construction research is provided. First, through a macro-scale review aided by bibliometric analysis a big picture of the research streams is plotted. Second, a micro-scale review is conducted to spot the gaps in the literature. The identified gaps are used to classify the future research directions into theoretical, application, and methodological developments

La conduttanza cutanea come possibile marker di stress cronico

Lo stress \ue8 una reazione aspecifica dell\u2019organismo a qualsiasi stimolo interno o esterno, di tale intensit\ue0 e durata da innescare meccanismi di adattamento o riadattamento capaci di ristabilire la omeostasi. Se tale condizione perdura nel tempo si possono avere conseguenze per la salute, dovute ad alterazioni del sistema immunitario, cardiovascolare, neuroendocrino e del sistema nervoso centrale. Ad oggi, il metodo principale per valutare lo stress \ue8 la registrazione di para- metri soggettivi, soprattutto tramite specifici questionari. \uc8 stata tuttavia ipotizzata la possibilit\ue0 di misurare lo stress tramite una serie di indicatori fisiologici, quali il cortisolo, la frequenza car- diaca, la componente ad alta frequenza dell\u2019ECG e di recente la conduttanza cutanea, i quali consentirebbero misurazioni pi\uf9 oggettive e semplici. La conduttanza cutanea nello specifico misura il grado di attivazione del sistema nervoso simpatico, che aumenta in caso di eventi stres- santi o situazioni di emergenza. \uc8 stato condotto uno studio in due fasi al fine di valutare l\u2019attendibilit\ue0 della misurazione della conduttanza cutanea e di altri indicatori oggettivi quali indicatori di stress cronico. Il progetto di ricerca ha coinvolto 87 soggetti, suddivisi in diverse categorie (conducenti di autobus, medici e soggetti afferenti al centro per i rischi psicosociali di natura lavorativa). La prima parte dello studio \ue8 stata condotta su 10 soggetti addetti alla conduzione degli autobus, registrando la con- duttanza cutanea attraverso una fascia bracciale Bodywear Sensormedics, la frequenza cardiaca e le componenti low e high frequency dell\u2019ECG. Lo stress cronico percepito \ue8 stato valutato con il questionario GHQ-12, che consente di valutare la presenza di disagio psichico. Nella seconda fase dello studio, che ha coinvolto 77 soggetti tra conducenti di autobus, medici e soggetti affe- renti al centro per i rischi psicosociali, sono stati utilizzati una fascia bracciale Bodywear Sensor- medics per registrare i valori di conduttanza cutanea ed il questionario GHQ-12 per misurare il grado di stress cronico percepito. I risultati hanno evidenziato la presenza di una correlazione significativa sia tra la conduttanza cutanea e gli altri parametri oggettivi, quali low frequency (rho=.32), high frequency (rho=-.40) ed intervallo RR (rho=.56), che con il GHQ-12 (rho=.36). \uc8 emersa inoltre la presenza di una differenza statisticamente significativa (p=.03) tra i valori della conduttanza cutanea tra i sog- getti stressati e quelli non stressati. Lo studio condotto ha mostrato quindi le potenzialit\ue0 di questo indicatore quale possibile marker di stress cronico

Fire safety and emergency evacuation training for occupants of building using 3D virtual simulation

With advancement in technology, building structures are becoming bigger and more complex. Incidences of horrifying fires that occur in such complex structures resulting in loss of property as well as lives are recorded worldwide. Emergency evacuation training can play a crucial role in mitigating damage not only in cases of fire, explosion or chemical spill but also in cases of natural calamities like floods and hurricanes. Conventional safety training provided in industries mostly comprises of unidirectional flow of information. Due to this passive learning style, response of employees in real life emergency situations is known to be ineffective. The proposed research focuses on the development of virtual emergency evacuation safety training for residents, workers and employees. This research developed a 3 dimensional (3D) virtual fire safety and emergency evacuation training for building occupants. A 3D model of a real engineering college building in the University of Central Florida (UCF) was developed in a virtual world and participants could interact with various objects and scenarios in this virtual building on a standard desktop computer using keyboard and mouse. Expert interviews and literature review were utilized to develop contents of fire safety and emergency evacuation training. Also, a slide based fire safety and emergency evacuation training was developed based on same contents and made available through a website. An effort was made to develop both trainings- virtual and slide based to be comparable in terms of contents. A case study with two sets of experiments comprising of 143 participants from UCF community was conducted to understand factors such as fidelity, simulation sickness, engagement and effectiveness of 3D virtual and slide based fire safety and emergency evacuation training. Results of fidelity and simulation sickness validated use of 3D virtual training for training building residents on fire safety and emergency evacuation. Data analysis of knowledge tests allowed to compare short terms and long term effectiveness of 3D virtual training and slide based training. To further understand engagement, physiological measure- electroencephalograph (EEG) of 40 healthy participants was recorded in second set of experiments. Ratio of Beta and Alpha frequency bands was studied to understand attention paid by trainees in 3D virtual and slide based training

A computational model of observer stress

Stress is a major growing concern in our age, adversely impacting individuals and society. Stress research has a wide range of benefits with the potential to improve health and wellbeing, personal day-to-day activities, increase work productivity and benefit society as a whole. This makes it an interesting and socially beneficial area of research. It motivates objective understanding of how average individuals respond to events they observe in typical environments they encounter, which this thesis investigates through artificial intelligence particularly bio-inspired computing and data mining. This thesis presents a review of the sensors that show symptoms which have been used to detect stress and computational modelling of stress. It discusses non-invasive and unobtrusive sensors for measuring computed stress. The focus is on sensors that do not impede everyday activities which could be used to monitor stress levels on a regular basis. Several computational techniques have been developed previously by others to model stress based on techniques including machine learning techniques but these are quite simplistic and inadequate. This thesis presents novel enhanced methods for modelling stress for classification and prediction using real-world stress data sets. The main aims for this thesis are to propose and define the concept of observer stress and develop computational models of observer stress for typical environments. The environments considered in this thesis are abstract virtual environments (text), virtual environments (films) and real environments (real-life settings). The research comprised stress data capture for the environments, multi-sensor signal processing and fusion, and knowledge discovery methods for the computational models to recognise and predict observer stress. Experiments were designed and conducted to acquire real-world observer stress data sets for the different environments. The data sets contain physiological and physical sensor signals of observers and survey reports that validate stress in the environments. The physiological stress signals in the data sets include electroencephalogram (EEG), electrocardiogram (ECG), galvanic skin response, blood pressure and the physical signals include eye gaze, pupil dilation and videos of faces in visible and thermal spectrums. Observer stress modelling systems were developed using analytics on the stress data sets. The systems generated stress features from the data and used these features to develop computational models based on techniques such as support vector machines and artificial neural networks to capture stress patterns. Some systems also optimised features using techniques such as genetic algorithm or correlation based techniques for developing models to capture better stress patterns for observer stress recognition. Additionally, a computational stress signal predictor system was developed to model temporal stress. This system was based on a novel combination of support vector machine, genetic algorithm and an artificial neural network. This thesis contributes a significant dimension to computational stress research. It investigates observer stress, proposes novel computational methods for stress, models stress with novel stress feature sets, and proposes a model for a temporal stress measure. The research outcomes provide an objective understanding on stress levels of observers, and environments based on observer perceptions. Further research suggested includes investigating models to manage stress conditions and observer behaviours

Aproximación neurocinemática al corte como articulador fílmico

[spa] El objetivo de esta tesis es caracterizar el cambio de plano por corte en la edición cinematográfica como articulador del discurso fílmico. Para conseguir nuestro objetivo nos basamos en analizar los mecanismos cognitivos del espectador que observa el film, a través del análisis de sus respuestas neuronales registradas por medio del electroencefalograma. Caracterizar el cambio de plano por corte como articulador cinematográfico desde las reacciones neuronales del espectador requiere comprobar que, al mismo tiempo que se producen patrones de reacción neuronal debidas a la percepción del input del corte, estos patrones reflejan diferencias dependiendo del tipo de cambio de plano percibido por el espectador. De esta forma, logramos definir un patrón general de reacción neuronal para el reconocimiento del corte por parte del espectador que muestra diferencias dependiendo de la forma de articulación concreta, definida por las características de variación entre el plano anterior y posterior al corte. El estudio cinematográfico desde sus orígenes comenzó estudiando la naturaleza articulativa del cambio de plano, igualando este hecho a la sintaxis del lenguaje (Sklovski, 1928; Eisenstein, 1949). Este postulado teórico continuó avanzando hasta los años 60, cuando se produjo la gran controversia teórica sobre cómo se articula el mensaje cinematográfico. Por un lado Mitry (1963) defendió la existencia de un lenguaje propiamente cinematográfico, donde el corte supone la articulación entre sus unidades, mientras que Metz (1968) desestimó toda posible existencia de un lenguaje propio, rechazando la posibilidad propuesta por Mitry. Esta divergencia teórica esencial para conocer la naturaleza de la estructura fílmica no ha sido resuelta y hasta nuestros días continúan propuestas teóricas que parten de la aceptación o la negación del cine como lenguaje. La presente investigación no aspira a resolver este conflicto, pero sí espera poner una primera piedra en su resolución desde las nuevas metodologías empíricas de análisis cinematográfico que ofrece la neurocinemática, analizando si el cambio de plano por corte supone un elemento articulativo en el discurso fílmico. La neurocinemática (Hasson et al., 2008) desarrolla una metodología empírica basada en el análisis de las mediciones biométricas del espectador mientras observa el film, siguiendo los fundamentos del ecologismo cognitivo cinematográfico (Anderson, 1998). Para nuestra investigación analizamos el ERD/ERS del registro electroencefalográfico de 21 espectadores mientras observan 4 fragmentos fílmicos de diferentes características estéticas que contienen una amplia gama de cambios de plano por corte en continuidad. Gracias al estudio de las respuestas neuronales podemos concluir que el cambio de plano por corte desencadena en el espectador reacciones neuronales en las bandas de frecuencia Theta y Delta, especialmente en la zona parietal, y es posible diferenciar estas reacciones dependiendo de la variación de factores como la diferencia de escala de plano o la variación de ángulo de cámara entre los planos anterior y posterior al corte. Con los resultados obtenidos podemos concluir que efectivamente el corte se comporta como articulador del mensaje fílmico, involucrando principalmente al hipocampo, región del cerebro relacionada con procesos de codificación, percepción espacio-temporal y procesos de memoria a corto y largo plazo (Ben-Yakov y Henson, 2018; Howard y Eichenbaum, 2015). Estos resultados permiten establecer una relación directa entre los mecanismo del sistema cognitivo humano que nos permite comprender el cambio de plano por corte con la teoría de articulación cinematográfica definida por Burch (1969), basándose en los conceptos de découpage espacial y découpage temporal.[eng] The main objective of this dissertation is to characterize the shot change by cut in the cinematographic edition as an articulator of the filmic discourse. To achieve our goal we focused on analysing the cognitive mechanisms of the spectator while is watching a film, through the analysis of their neuronal responses registered by electroencephalogram. Characterizing the shot change by cut as a filmic articulator through the spectator's neuronal reactions requires verifying that, at the same time that neuronal reaction patterns are produced due to the perception of the input of the cut event, these patterns also should reflect differences depending on the kind of shot change perceived by the spectator. In this way, we managed to define a general pattern of neuronal reaction for the recognition of the cut event by the spectator that also shows modulations depending on the specific articulation shape, defined by the characteristics of variation between the plane before and after the cut. In our research, we analysed the ERD/ERS from the electroencephalographic registered from 21 spectators while observing 4 film fragments whit different aesthetic characteristics and that contain a wide range of shot changes by cut in a continuity editing sequence. Through the study of the neuronal responses we can conclude that the shot change by cut triggers neuronal reactions in the spectator in the Theta and Delta frequency bands, especially in the parietal zone. Also it is possible to differentiate these spectator neuronal reactions depending on the variation of factors such as the shot scale difference or the camera angle variation between the shots before and after the cut. With the results obtained, we can conclude that effectively the cut acts as an articulator of the filmic message, mainly involving the hippocampus, region of the brain related to the coding processes, the spatial-temporal perception and the short-term and long-term memory processes. The results obtained allow us to establish a direct relationship between the mechanisms of the human cognitive system that allows us to understand the shot change by cut with the theory of the cinematographic articulation defined by Burch, based on the concepts of spatial découpage and temporal découpage