Asynchronous control applications are an important class of application that has not received much attention from the brain-computer interface (BCI) community. This work provides a design for an asynchronous BCI switch and performs the first extensive evaluation of an asynchronous device in attentive, spontaneous electroencephalographic (EEG). The switch design [named the low-frequency asynchronous switch design (LF-ASD)] is based on a new feature set related to imaginary movements in the 1-4 Hz frequency range. This new feature set was identified from a unique analysis of EEG using a bi-scale wavelet. Offline evaluations of a prototype switch demonstrated hit (true positive) rates in the range of 38%-81% with corresponding false positive rates in the range of 0.3%-11.6%. The performance of the LF-ASD was contrasted with two other ASDs: one based on mu-power features and another based on the outlier processing method (OPM) algorithm. The minimum mean error rates for the LF-ASD were shown to be significantly lower than either of these other two switch designs.

In this work we present the first comprehensive survey of Brain Interface (BI) technology designs published prior to January 2006. Detailed results from this survey, which was based on the Brain Interface Design Framework proposed by Mason and Birch, are presented and discussed to address the following research questions: (1) which BI technologies are directly comparable, (2) what technology designs exist, (3) which application areas (users, activities and environments) have been targeted in these designs, (4) which design approaches have received little or no research and are possible opportunities for new technology, and (5) how well are designs reported. The results of this work demonstrate that meta-analysis of high-level BI design attributes is possible and informative. The survey also produced a valuable, historical cross-reference where BI technology designers can identify what types of technology have been proposed and by whom.

The Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) research community has acknowledged that researchers are experiencing difficulties when they try to compare the BCI techniques described in the literature. In response to this situation, the community has stressed the need for objective methods to compare BCI technologies. Suggested improvements have included the development and use of benchmark applications and standard data sets. However, as a young, multidisciplinary research field, the BCI community lacks a common vocabulary. As a result, this deficiency leads to poor intergroup communication, which hinders the development of the desired methods of comparison. One of the principle reasons for the lack of common vocabulary is the absence of a common functional model of a BCI System. This paper proposes a new functional model for BCI System design. The model supports many features that facilitate the comparison of BCI technologies with other BCI and non-BCI user interface technologies. From this model, taxonomy for BCI System design is developed. Together the model and taxonomy are considered a general framework for BCI System design. The representational power of the proposed framework was evaluated by applying it to a set of existing BCI technologies. The framework could effectively describe all of the BCI System designs tested.

The low-frequency asynchronous switch design (LF-ASD) was introduced as a direct brain-computer interface (BCI) technology for asynchronous control applications. The LF-ASD operates as an asynchronous brain switch (ABS) which is activated only when a user intends control and maintains an inactive state output when the user is not meaning to control the device (i.e., they may be idle, thinking about a problem, or performing some other action). Results from LF-ASD evaluations have shown promise, although the reported error rates are too high for most practical applications. This paper presents the evaluation of four new LF-ASD designs with data collected from individuals with high-level spinal cord injuries and able-bodied subjects. These new designs incorporated electroencephalographic energy normalization and feature space dimensionality reduction. The error characteristics of the new ABS designs were significantly better than the LF-ASD design with true positive rate increases of approximately 33% for false positive rates in the range of 1%-2%. The results demonstrate that the dimensionality of the LF-ASD feature space can be reduced without performance degradation. The results also confirm previous findings that spinal cord-injured subjects can operate ABS designs to the same ability as able-bodied subjects.

Previous research has focused on developing a brain-controlled switch named the low frequency asynchronous switch design (LF-ASD) that is suitable for intermittent control of devices such as environmental control systems, computers, and neural prostheses. On-line implementations of the LF-ASD have shown promising results in response to actual index finger flexions with able-bodied subjects. This paper reports the results of initial on-line evaluations of the LF-ASD brain-controlled switch with both able-bodied subjects and subjects with high-level spinal-cord injuries. This paper has demonstrated that users can activate the LF-ASD switch by imaging movement. In this paper, two able-bodied subjects were able to control the LF-ASD with imagined voluntary movements with hit (true positive) rates above 70% and false positive rates below 3% while two subjects with high-level spinal-cord injuries demonstrated hit rates ranging from 45-48% and false positive rates below 1%.