Brain-Controlled Wheelchair Review: From Wet Electrode to Dry Electrode, From Single Modal to Hybrid Modal, From Synchronous to Asynchronous

Abstract

Brain-computer interface (BCI) is a novel human-computer interaction model, which does not depend on the conventional output pathway (peripheral nerve and muscle tissue). In the past three decades, it has attracted the interest of researchers and gradually become a research hotspot. As a typical BCI application, the brain-controlled wheelchair (BCW) could provide a new communicating channel with the external environment for physically disabled people. However, the main challenge of BCW is how to decode multi-degree of freedom control instruction from electroencephalogram (EEG) as soon as possible. The research progress of BCW has been developed rapidly over the past fifteen years. In this review, we investigate the BCW from multiple perspectives, include the type of signal acquisition, the pattern of commands for the control system and the working mechanism of the control system. Furthermore, we summarize the development trend of BCW based on the previous investigation, and it is mainly manifested in three aspects: from a wet electrode to dry electrode, from single-mode to multi-mode, and from synchronous control to asynchronous control. With the continuous development of BCW, we also find new functions have been introduced into BCW to increase its stability and robustness. It is believed that BCW will be able to enter the real-life from the laboratory and will be widely used in rehabilitation medicine in the future.

A Comprehensive Review of Endogenous EEG-Based BCIs for Dynamic Device Control

“…The relevant review papers were: Hekmatmanesh, 2021 [ 7 ]: Focus on brain-controlled vehicles, covering exogenous paradigms and endogenous paradigms. Wang, 2021 [ 8 ]: Review of BCI-controlled wheelchair systems, including electrode type, modality, and synchronicity. Wankhade, 2020 [ 9 ]: Focus on different EEG-based BCI paradigms, both exogenous and endogenous, and the signal-processing techniques used with them, as well as a brief discussion of online systems.…”

“…Wang, 2021 [ 8 ]: Review of BCI-controlled wheelchair systems, including electrode type, modality, and synchronicity.…”

“…The papers by Al-qaysi et al [ 11 ] and Wang et al [ 8 ] were focused only on BCI-controlled wheelchairs. The scope of our review paper was wider, with qualifying papers that presented any kind of BCI-controlled dynamic system being included in the review.…”

State of the Art of Non-Invasive Electrode Materials for Brain–Computer Interface

“…Nowadays, BCI can be used in many fields, including medicine, entertainment, industry, and other applications. The medical field is currently the largest area where BCI is applied [5][6][7]. For example, it can be used as alternative communication and environment control to enable amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients to communicate [8] or in post-stroke motor rehabilitation [9,10].…”

Determining Natural Pathway for Side-by-Side Robotic Wheelchair in Passing Pedestrian Flows Using Dynamic Density

“…Among the recent research directions on the development of robotic devices to support elderly and the disabled, developing robotic wheelchairs is an area that has attracted the attention of robotic researchers. As a result, a variety of assistant wheelchairs have been developed, from the development of brainwave control systems to autonomous navigation systems [1], [2].…”