A Brief Review of Signal Processing for EEG-based BCI: Approaches and Opportunities

Abstract

In every society, people with disabilities need to communicate with others. However, their economic and educational status are predominantly limited by the unavailability of tools and technologies to satisfy their special needs. There is a necessity for technological solutions to constantly increase to overcome their difficulties with everyday activities. Recent days, Brain-computer Interface (BCI) has drawn attention of many researchers as a hands-free tool which can help motion impaired people to control devices, express their opinions and ideas, and communicate with others. The real-time control of sensors and actuators can be implemented using BCI at the expense of high computational resources. In fact, the evolution of brain technology has offered limitless opportunities and possibilities for impaired as well as healthy members to contribute and participate in the society. With the help of human brain signals or an electroencephalogram (EEG), brain activity in the neocortex is measured as voltage differences over the scalp. Information on subjects’ intentions and thoughts is encompassed by EEG electrical patterns, which is decoded as important signatures of brain activity. The status quo BCI technology and associated signal processing schemes are advancing fast. It will also improve control of devices in space, people’s lives in e-home, or communication in novel ways. This manuscript presents the EEG signal processing and classification techniques to design BCI system as a control or communication device.