Testing performance of multicolour checkerboard flickers against their greyscale versions for SSVEP-based BCI

Abstract

This paper utilizes an iOS application specifically developed for this research. The application generates multicolour checkerboard flickers of preset sizes using primary and secondary colours of Red-Green-Blue (RGB) additive colour science and allows investigating colour’s impact on brain signals through visual stimulation. Using an iOS tablet equipped with 12.9” screen, all multicolour checkerboards were tested against their greyscale counterparts in order to determine the impact of colour information on the amplitude of generated brain signals using Steady State Visual Evoked Potential (SSVEP) paradigm. The raw brain signals were captured using Emotiv EPOC headset. The results confirm a significant signal gain from the use of colour flickers compared to greyscale flickers.