BCI-Based Navigation in Virtual and Real Environments

A Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) is a system that enables people to control an external device with their brain activity, without the need of any muscular activity. Researchers in the BCI field aim to develop applications to improve the quality of life of severely disabled patients, for whom a BCI can be a useful channel for interaction with their environment. Some of these systems are intended to control a mobile device (e. g. a wheelchair). Virtual Reality is a powerful tool that can provide the subjects with an opportunity to train and to test different applications in a safe environment. This technical review will focus on systems aimed at navigation, both in virtual and real environments.This work was partially supported by the Innovation, Science and Enterprise Council of the Junta de Andalucía (Spain), project P07-TIC-03310, the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, project TEC 2011-26395 and by the European fund ERDF