Development of a brain-computer interface based in motor imagery using OpenViBE

• Grant number: 15/14994-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2015
• End date: February 28, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Biomedical Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Gabriela Castellano
• Grantee: Aline Cristiane Buzzi
• Host Institution: Instituto de Física Gleb Wataghin (IFGW). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 13/07559-3 - BRAINN - The Brazilian Institute of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, AP.CEPID

Abstract

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are systems designed to use brain signals to drive external devices for both communication (e.g., keyboards) and movement (e.g., robotic arm, wheel chair) of severely disabled patients and for use in games. The brain signals used for BCIs are produced using a variety of strategies, some in which the user is instructed to think of specific things to get certain results. In these cases, the most widely used strategy is motor imagery (MI), which produces signals that are both specific and well localized from the point of view of electroencephalography, which is the main signal acquisition technique for BCIs. The aim of this project is to carry out a study about BCIs, focusing on the MI-based ones, and to develop a BCI based on MI using the OpenViBE platform, a free software platform dedicated to designing, testing and using BCIs. This project will be developed under the FAPESP CEPID "Brazilian Institute of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology" (BRAINN), in a partnership between the Neurophysics Group, of the Gleb Wataghin Physics Institute, and the Department of Computer Engineering and Industrial Automation of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, both from UNICAMP, and both participants of the aforementioned project.