Abstract
To be correctly mastered, brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) need an uninterrupted flow of feedback to the user. This feedback is usually delivered through the visual channel. Our aim was to explore the benefits of vibrotactile feedback during users' training and control of EEG-based BCI applications. A protocol for delivering vibrotactile feedback, including specific hardware and software arrangements, was specified. In three studies with 33 subjects (including 3 with spinal cord injury), we compared vibrotactile and visual feedback, addressing: (I) the feasibility of subjects' training to master their EEG rhythms using tactile feedback; (II) the compatibility of this form of feedback in presence of a visual distracter; (III) the performance in presence of a complex visual task on the same (visual) or different (tactile) sensory channel. The stimulation protocol we developed supports a general usage of the tactors; preliminary experimentations. All studies indicated that the vibrotactile channel can function as a valuable feedback modality with reliability comparable to the classical visual feedback. Advantages of using a vibrotactile feedback emerged when the visual channel was highly loaded by a complex task. In all experiments, vibrotactile feedback felt, after some training, more natural for both controls and SCI users.
Highlights
The human brain relies on inputs from different senses to form percepts of objects and events, during everyday life
S1 obtained an average accuracy of 79% for both feedback modalities and S4 reached 79% for the visual feedback modality
We found no differences between average accuracies of the visual feedback (VF) and HF sessions
Summary
The human brain relies on inputs from different senses to form percepts of objects and events, during everyday life. These pieces of information usually complement and confirm each other, thereby enhancing the reliability of percept [1]. Somatosensory feedback is a vital component of motor planning, control, and adaptation, and there is a growing effort to include this feedback modality in neural prosthetic systems [2]. Visual presentation of stimuli is the most common feedback modality in neurofeedback paradigms for self-regulation of the brain’s electrical activity. Towards more efficient brain-computer communication, it seems important to obtain evidence of how the extravision somatosensory modality performs during self-regulation of the brain’s electrical activity
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