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Project Title Here

• Richard Eyre
• Jordan Raffoul
• Shayan Zafar Ahmad
• Brad Mckie

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Web Sites Reviewed

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain%E2%80%93computer_interface
2. http://emotiv.com/
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotiv_Systems
4. http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/102927-brain-computer-interfaces-creep-closer-to-bionic-mecha-dream
5. http://computer.howstuffworks.com/brain-computer-interface.htm

Thesis Statement

Thesis

Does BCI technology have the potential to replace the standard methods of Human Computer Interaction?

Keywords

• BCI (Brain-Computer Interface)
• Replace
• Human Computer Interaction

Research Notes

Topics

• The effect of implanted interfaces (anything that is connected directly to our nervous system) i.e. Brain-Computer Interfaces.
• How will BCIs effect the psyche of humans?
• BCIs and helping paralyzed/disabled people.
• How will errors be handled?(Incorrect actions, actions not meant to be done)

Thesis Statement

1. Does BCI technology have the potential to replace the standard methods of Human Computer Interaction?

Secondary Sources

Monkey can receive BCI input

• http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=cant-touch-this-feeling

Unravelling the Intricacy of the Brain

• http://www.ted.com/talks/ed_boyden.html

Brain Controller Prosthetic Arms

• http://medgadget.com/2011/04/undergraduate_engineers_develop_braincontrolled_prosthetic_arm.html
• http://www.spinalcordinjury-paralysis.org/research/2011/03/17/thought-control-of-robotic-arm

• http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-02/darpas-brain-controlled-robotic-arm-could-be-available-just-four-years

General information

• http://gerstner.felk.cvut.cz/biolab/bionika2004/cepek/bci.html

• http://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2011/5/107704-brain-computer-interfaces-for-communication-and-control/fulltext

Error Recovery

• http://www.saminverso.com/res/thesis/inversoThesis.pdf

Wikipedia Article

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain%E2%80%93computer_interface

Prioritized Note Record

Questions & Answer

How does the Brain actually Interface with BCI's?

• Neurons

• Electroencephalography

• Neuroplasticity

Has this Technology been successful in practice?

• Animal Testing: Monkeys
  • First trials have been done where a monkey was able to not only control an avatar on screen but also receive tactile information from that avatar.
• Testing on Humans
  • Prosthetics
    • The biggest program to date for human prosthetics and BCIs is the Robotic Program of DARPA. It has created a robot prosthetic arm with the same number of degrees of freedom as a real arm that is controlled via the subject by wires connected to their nerves. Work is now being done to get rid of the wires and transfer the commands wirelessly with a BCI.
  • Paraplegia
• Invasive

• Non-Invasive

• Semi-Invasive

Is this technology capable of scaling? Right now we have can handle simple interactions with BCIs but what about more complex ones such as picking out an exact thought?

• The limits of conventional technology such as EEG and MRI
  • EEG and MRI are not very exact; they are more of an overall measure of the activity of the brain.
  • MRI can only detect what areas of the brain are activated and at what level they are being activated too.
  • EEG can only detect the electromagnetic field that is being generated by the brain. What is happening in the brain is then inferred from this. It does not get down to the basics of the brain.
• New research and technologies that can address this
  • Work is being done to determine the exact neural circuits that are activated when the brain is working.This is done by altering the genetic code of the neurons to be activated when a blue light is shone onto it. This hows promise on the path to understanding the brain fully because it would allow us to create complex bci’s that understand the nature of the neural circuits of the brain and would work deeply with the neural circuits of the brain. Also, work is being done on creating neurons that react to orange light as well, effectively making blue on and orange off. This would allow us to extract a binary code from the brain i.e. the software that it runs on.

Human Computer Interaction Vs Brain Computer Interfaces

• Arguments for replacement
• Arguments against
  • Cultural Acceptance
• Possibilities?

Ethics ((Issues defined by wikipedia))

• Obtaining informed consent from people who have difficulty communicating
• Side-effects
• Personal responsibility
• Mind-reading and privacy
• Mind-control
• Use of the technology in advanced interrogation techniques by governmental authorities
• Selective enhancement and social stratification

Further Research