A mobile EEG system for practical applications

Translating brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) from research into real-life applications is a major challenge. A mobile electroencephalogram (EEG) system is a potential solution as it has practical advantages in flexibility, portability, and tolerance towards gross movements, however, it may compromise the EEG signal quality. In this paper, we present a new 64-channel mobile EEG system and evaluate the EEG signal quality by comparing it with a state-of-the-art wired laboratory EEG system. The comparisons were validated with alpha wave and a steady-state visually evoked potential (SSVEP)-based BCI paradigm in standing, walking and running conditions. The experimental results indicated that both EEG systems performed equally well when used in EEG recordings in the standing and walking conditions. Furthermore, the mobile EEG system achieved significantly higher classification accuracies for SSVEP detection than the referenced wired EEG system in the running condition. These findings suggest that the mobile EEG system holds promise in real-life BCI applications.