Emil Kraaikamp - Hor-I-Spell, a mental typewriter based on a beta-burst brain switch

A brain-computer interface (BCI) provides a non-muscular communication channel for people with and without disabilities. State-of-the-art EEG-based BCI spelling applications traditionally make use of a two-class motor-imagery tasks, based on mu-band activity (8-12 Hz), to move a cursor and select letters presented on a computer screen. However, a continuing study at the University of Groningen has shown that beta-band activity (16-26 Hz) could be used as a reliable binary selection signal, and in this study a non-invasive EEG-based BCI spelling application was developed based on such a single binary selection signal.

In the first stage of the study several spelling applications were developed and tested in an extensive offline user study to find the best performing application based on a single binary selection signal. The second stage consisted of applying this spelling application in an EEG setting to develop a semi-automatic calibration method used to operate a spelling application in the final stage of the experiment.