Ear-EEG: User-Centered and Wearable BCI
We present a radically new solution for EEG-based brain computer interface (BCI) where electrodes are embedded on a customized earpiece, as typically used in hearing aids (Ear-EEG). This provides a noninvasive, minimally intrusive and user-friendly EEG pl
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Abstract. We present a radically new solution for EEG-based brain computer interface (BCI) where electrodes are embedded on a customized earpiece, as typically used in hearing aids (Ear-EEG). This provides a noninvasive, minimally intrusive and user-friendly EEG platform suitable for long-term use (days) in natural environments. The operation of Ear-EEG is illustrated for alpha-attenuation and responses to auditory stimuli, and its potential in BCI is evaluated on an SSVEP study. We show that Ear-EEG bitrate performances are comparable with those of on-scalp electrodes, thus promising a quantum step forward for wearable BCI. Keywords: Ear-EEG, brain computer interface (BCI), non-medical BCI, wearable EEG, steady state visual evoked potential (SSVEP).
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Introduction
Opportunities for EEG-based BCI are rapidly expanding beyond medical uses where the primary aim is a high-performance communication pathway for paralyzed patients, to numerous non-medical uses for healthy subjects wherein the goal is a continuous measurement of brain state [1]. Typical non-medical applications could include monitoring fatigue or stress to optimize performance in the work place, or the evaluation of emotional state to create more natural man-machine interfaces. This all requires overcoming several multi-disciplinary challenges in, e.g., machine learning and signal processing, but most crucial of all is the realisation of a robust and portable technology for continuous recording of EEG. A demand for EEG systems capable of outpatient monitoring, aided by developments in miniature preamplifiers and continuous analog-recording technology, led to the first ambulatory EEG (AEEG) systems in the 1970's [2]. Digitization of recording platforms, coupled with the integration of computer technology, has provided even greater portability, and current recording systems can operate for 24 h with up to 32 channels. However, conventional recording systems remain bulky and cumbersome, and primarily operate in the laboratory setting (see Figure 1, left). This limits the use of EEG in operations such as BCI and highlights the need for so-called wearable systems which allow long-term recordings in natural environments [3]. C. Guger, B. Allison, and E.C. Leuthardt (eds.), Brain-Computer Interface Research, Biosystems & Biorobotics 6, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-54707-2_5, © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014
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D. Looney, P. Kidmose, and D.P. Mandic
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Towards Wearable EEG
The concept of wearable EEG is of particular value in non-medical BCI applications where a trade-off in performance is acceptable in order to satisfy needs of the user. One of the ways such a trade-off can be achieved is in the design of systems which can accommodate smaller batteries, thereby reducing the system size and increasing its wearability, either by reducing the number of electrodes or through advanced data compression algorithms which reduce data logging and/or the transmission costs (50% reduction in raw data using lossless compression techniques [3]). Another key ad
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