A Novel Hybrid Brain–Computer Interface Combining the Illusion-Induced VEP and SSVEP

Traditional single-modality brain-computer interface (BCI) systems are limited by their reliance on a single characteristic of brain signals. To address this issue, incorporating multiple features from EEG signals can provide robust information to enhance BCI performance. In this study, we designed and implemented a novel hybrid paradigm that combined illusion-induced visual evoked potential (IVEP) and steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) with the aim of leveraging their features simultaneously to improve system efficiency. The proposed paradigm was validated through two experimental studies, which encompassed feature analysis of IVEP with a static paradigm, and performance evaluation of hybrid paradigm in comparison with the conventional SSVEP paradigm. The characteristic analysis yielded significant differences in response waveforms among different motion illusions. The performance evaluation of the hybrid BCI demonstrates the advantage of integrating illusory stimuli into the SSVEP paradigm. This integration effectively enhanced the spatio-temporal features of EEG signals, resulting in higher classification accuracy and information transfer rate (ITR) within a short time window when compared to traditional SSVEP-BCI in four-command task. Furthermore, the questionnaire results of subjective estimation revealed that proposed hybrid BCI offers less eye fatigue, and potentially higher levels of concentration, physical condition, and mental condition for users. This work first introduced the IVEP signals in hybrid BCI system that could enhance performance efficiently, which is promising to fulfill the requirements for efficiency in practical BCI control systems.