Environmental control by a brain-computer interface

Locked-in patients, such as those with amytrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), lose control of their bodies, leaving them unable to perform simple tasks such as speech, locomotion, and the ability to effectively interact with their environment. Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) show promise in allowing these individuals to interact with a computer using EEG. A system was created to allow individuals, via a BCI, to control home appliances and to have the computer articulate pre-selected words. It uses ActiveHome from X10, which can control of a wide variety of home appliances via a computer, and allows tasks such as light dimming, TV channel changing, and turning appliances on and off. The system was evaluated with a set of tasks to measure its ease-of-use, ease-of-learning, rate-of-error, and amount of time the subject required to complete the task.