Comparison of PSDA and CCA detection methods in a SSVEP-based BCI-system

Using steady-state visually evoked potential (SSVEP) in brain-computer interface (BCI) systems is the subject of a lot of research. One of the most popular and widely used detection method is using a power spectral density analysis (PSDA). Lately there have been some new methods emerging, one of them is using canonical correlation analysis (CCA) which seems to have some promising improvements and advantages compared to traditional SSVEP detection methods, like better signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), lower inter-subject variability and the possibility to use harmonic frequencies, i.e., a serie of frequencies which have the same fundamental frequency. In this research two different SSVEP detection methods, one using PSDA and one using CCA are compared. The results show that the CCA-based detection method performs significantly better than the PSDA-based detection method. The increase of performance can in particular be seen when using harmonic frequencies. While the PSDA-based detection method has difficulties detecting harmonic frequencies, the CCA-based detection method is able to detect harmonic frequencies

Multi-touch and mobile technologies for galleries, libraries, archives and museums

Technological developments open new opportunities to meet the increasing expectations of visitors to galleries, libraries, archives or museums. Although these technologies provide many new possibilities, individual challenges and limitations are rife. Galleries, libraries, archives and museums should aim to unify many such technologies in order to capture visitor attention, engage interaction and facilitate both personal and social experiences. By incorporating objects, devices and people into a network of interconnected systems, new patterns, interaction types and social relations are expected to emerge. This thesis explores the unification of these technologies, identifies behavioural patterns emerging from visitor interactions and examines how combining these technologies can contribute to engaging visitor interactions and the effects they have on both individuals and groups. The thesis states that combining mobile devices and interactive displays will offer new engaging interactions for museum visitors. This will allow them to spread their interactions throughout the museum and easily switch between private and social experiences. Museums should therefore adopt combinations of mobile devices and interactive displays to meet the increasing expectations of their visitors and offer both private and social experiences

Modality switching and performance in a thought and speech controlled computer game

Providing multiple modalities to users is known to improve the overall performance of an interface. Weakness of one modality can be overcome by the strength of another one. Moreover, with respect to their abilities, users can choose between the modalities to use the one that is the best for them. In this paper we explored whether this holds for direct control of a computer game which can be played using a brain-computer interface (BCI) and an automatic speech recogniser (ASR). Participants played the games in unimodal mode (i.e. ASR-only and BCI-only) and multimodal mode where they could switch between the two modalities. The majority of the participants switched modality during the multimodal game but for the most of the time they stayed in ASR control. Therefore multimodality did not provide a significant performance improvement over unimodal control in our particular setup. We also investigated the factors which influence modality switching. We found that performance and peformance-related factors were prominently effective in modality switching

User expectations and experiences of a speech and thought controlled computer game

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are often evaluated in terms of performance and seldom for usability. However in some application domains, such as entertainment computing, user experience evaluation is vital. User experience evaluation in BCI systems, especially in entertainment applications such as games, can be biased due to the novelty of the interface. However, as the novelty will eventually vanish, what matters is the user experience related to the unique features offered by BCI. Therefore it is a viable approach to compare BCI to other novel modalities, such as a speech or motion recogniser, rather than the traditional mouse and keyboard. In the study which we present in this paper, our participants played a computer game with a BCI and an automatic speech recogniser (ASR) and they rated their expectations and experiences for both modalities. Our analysis on subjective ratings revealed that both ASR and BCI were successful in satisfying participants' expectations in general. Participants found speech control easier to learn than BCI control. They indicated that BCI control induced more fatigue than they expected

Meeting the expectations from brain-computer interfaces

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are often evaluated in terms of performance and seldom for usability. However in some application domains, such as entertainment computing, user experience evaluation is vital. User experience evaluation in BCI systems, especially in entertainment applications such as games, can be biased due to the novelty of the interface.However, as the novelty will eventually vanish, whatmatters is the user experience related to the unique features offered by BCI. Therefore it is a viable approach to compare BCI to other novel modalities, such as a speech or motion recognizer, rather than the traditional mouse and keyboard. In the study that we present in this article, our participants played a computer game with a BCI and an automatic speech recognizer (ASR), and they rated their expectations and experiences for both modalities. Our analysis on subjective ratings revealed that both ASR and BCI were successful in satisfying participants' expectations in general. Participants found speech control easier to learn than BCI control. They indicated that BCI control induced more fatigue than they expected

Connect and connectivity: revealing a world of interactions

Connectivity is embedded into our modern day society. Devices rely increasingly on permanent network connections, people keep connected through social networks and technological advances allow everyday objects to become part of large networks of interconnected entities. Within these networks connectivity allows for the design of novel interaction methods by utilising the digital input and output capabilities of connected entities. However, when specifically designing for interaction, entities become entangled and remain oblivious of each other’s features. This poster presents the current progress in opening up the space of connectivity in order to reveal and make use of the available technological capabilities. Identifying communities of objects, people and devices and provide the means to discover, and make use of the technological properties of each element, treating them as an interacting ecosystem of complex adaptive systems and networks in physical spaces

Health and Wellness in a Connected Society

This poster gives an overview of the project Health and Wellness in a Connected Society. The application of new technological innovations are finding their way into the health and wellness sector where they are increasingly used for various purposes. The research project ‘Health and Wellness in a Connected Society’ will be looking at new technologies to measure, monitor and stimulate physical activity for health care patients (e.g. diabetic, chronic pain, heart failure). How combinations of these new technologies can contribute to improving care, health and well-being will be the central research question this project addresses. In particular how they can facilitate 24/7 monitoring to support care, treatment and interventions plans. One of the first steps will be to investigate how new technologies can be used to measure physical activity and movements in-the-wild (i.e. at home) and be integrated into everyday life. The research project will then continue to build upon these findings, collect data from these technologies and utilize this for intervention methods. The project also allows to further investigate technological issues, the effects these technologies have on their users, and both privacy and ethical aspects of applying these technologies. Insights into these topics will help to develop guidelines for using (combinations of) new technologies to support care, treatment and intervention plans. A Conference object of Supporting Health by Technology 2019 at Groningen, The Netherlands