THINK: Toward Practical General-Purpose Brain-Computer Communication

Abstract

In this paper, we present \textbf{THINK}, a practical general-purpose brain-computer communication platform that relies on the OpenBCI and OpenViBE hardware and software platforms, and allows for a simple three-alphabet vocabulary. Specifically, we consider the scenario where a subject is wearing a sensor array (an electrode cap), and consciously manipulating her thoughts to communicate wirelessly with an external computing entity (a smartphone) without the aid of any external stimuli. Using \textbf{THINK}, we explore general aspects of brain computer communication that are application agnostic. In particular, we study the following questions: (i) what is the accuracy of the system? (ii) how fast can the subject switch thoughts corresponding to symbols; (iii) is there an impact on accuracy with learning time; and (iv) how does accuracy drop with decreasing number of sensors (electrodes)? Using purely experimental analysis, we present some results that provide preliminary answers for these questions.