Towards ambulatory brain-computer interfaces

Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) are communication systems that enable users to interact with computers using only brain activity. This activity is generally measured by ElectroEncephaloGraphy (EEG). A major limitation of BCI is the electrical sensitivity of EEG which causes severe deterioration of the signals when the user is moving. This constrains current EEG-based BCI to be used only by sitting and still subjects, hence limiting the use of BCI for applications such as video games. In this paper, we proposed a feasibility study to discover whether a BCI system, here based on the P300 brain signal, could be used with a moving subject. We recorded EEG signals from 5 users in 3 conditions: sitting, standing and walking. Analysis of the recorded signals suggested that despite the noise generated by the user's motion, it was still possible to detect the P300 in the signals in each of the three conditions. This opens new perspective of applications using a wearable P300-based BCI as input device, e.g., for entertainment and video games.