Usability evaluation process of brain computer interfaces: an experimental study

Abstract

Usability includes concepts such as satisfaction, efficiency and effectiveness. This may be partly the result of functionality, but they are mainly defined by the user's interaction with the system. The brain-computer interface (BCI) provides a direct communication path between the brain and the external world by translating signals from brain activities into codes or commands. The purpose of the evaluation of usability in BCI is that the interfaces can be understood, learned, used and attractive to the user, under specific conditions of use. For the evaluation of usability in BCI different methods and tools have been proposed (Questionnaires, Interviews, neurophysiological measures). The evaluations in BCI are generally based on traditional methods (Questionnaires or Interviews), obtaining subjective answers without the certainty of the precision. This work presents an experimental study that allows us to analyze the evaluation process of the usability in BCI in order to verify if the mental effort influences the evaluation method.