EU Marie-Curie DN DONUT

Brain-computer interfacing (BCI) provides not only new opportunities to assist paralysed individuals but also an exciting outlook on how humans will interact with technology in the future. Despite the successes that even reached the media, paradigms and technology are still being actively developed. This is even more the case when taking BCI technology out of the lab. The MSCA-funded DONUT project seeks to establish a doctoral network (DN) focused on paradigms, neural prostheses and brain research, serving as a catalyst for new researchers and EU partners seeking entry into the BCI domain.

DONUT

Modern technologies that enrich and simplify people's everyday lives are gaining more and more influence. Brain-computer interfaces, sometimes called brain-machine interfaces or neuroprostheses, capture brain signals, analyze them, and translate them in real time into instructions that a computer can understand. These instructions can then be relayed to devices or processed directly to perform desired actions. In this way, direct communication is made possible between the brain and the object to be controlled, such as speech computers or a robot.

M³S

From your pocket to your own four walls: In times of smartphones and smart homes, communication between man and machine is becoming increasingly simple and direct. Haptic interfaces are more and more being replaced by non-contact interfaces, such as speech or facial recognition systems. For a successful integration of such interfaces into everyday use, the underlying systems have to be profitable for everyone and without long training phases. In the M³S project, we develop human-machine interfaces suitable for everyday use, in which mainly EEG data, i.e. brain signals from users, are used to control computers and external devices. These direct interfaces between brain and machine are also known as BCI, short for Brain-Computer Interface.

BCI@Home

Moving everyday objects with your mind? What was once science fiction has now become reality thanks to modern brain-computer interface (BCI) systems. In the BCI@Home project, we are exploring how to best connect brain and computer in order to improve the lives of people with limited physical abilities. This interface, for example, would allow patients to communicate without speech and even control robots solely through brain activity.

Due to degenerative illness or aging, many people are limited in how they can interact with their environment. The BCI system offers its users the opportunity to steer communication devices and assistive technology using only their brain waves.

Our system uses so-called "SSVEPs" (steady state visual evoked potentials). These are electric potentials that occur in our brain when our eyes perceive visual stimuli of certain frequencies. In our experiment, we use flickering boxes on a computer screen to trigger these SSVEPs in the visual cortex of the human brain. The boxes on the screen flicker at different frequencies from 6 to 90Hz. Each box is assigned to a certain command or letter so that the user can activate that command or spell out a word just by glancing at the respective boxes.

EBCI

The goal of the project “EEG-based brain-computer interfaces for use in health care (EBCI)” was the development of new approaches in the field of SSVEP-based brain-computer interfaces (BCI). A BCI is a system that allows people to communicate without moving. It measures the brain activity (for example, via the non-invasively measured electroencephalogram (EEG)) and converts them directly into computer commands, which can control a computer or some other assistance system. This tool can be the only way of communication for severely disabled users.

ABCI

The effects of ageing present physical handicaps that all-too-often prevent elderly people from maintaining relationships and actively participating in social life, even when they can live safely and independently in their own homes.

Modern communication technologies could help elderly people with physical impairments if they provided special interfaces that worked independently of the persons' limitations.

The project "Brain Computer Interfaces suitable for daily use" pursues a solution-based approach for the development of appropriate communication technologies. Applications of this system might improve quality of life for physically handicapped elderly persons and their families.