Dillen Arnau, Omidi Mohsen, Díaz María Alejandra, Ghaffari Fakhreddine, Roelands Bart, Vanderborght Bram, Romain Olivier, De Pauw Kevin
Human Physiology and Sports Physiotherapy Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.
Équipes Traitement de l'Information et Systèmes, UMR 8051, CY Cergy Paris Université, École Nationale Supérieure de l'Électronique et de ses Applications (ENSEA), Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), Cergy, France.
Front Hum Neurosci. 2024 Aug 5;18:1448584. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1448584. eCollection 2024.
Brain-computer interfaces (BCI) enable users to control devices through their brain activity. Motor imagery (MI), the neural activity resulting from an individual imagining performing a movement, is a common control paradigm. This study introduces a user-centric evaluation protocol for assessing the performance and user experience of an MI-based BCI control system utilizing augmented reality. Augmented reality is employed to enhance user interaction by displaying environment-aware actions, and guiding users on the necessary imagined movements for specific device commands. One of the major gaps in existing research is the lack of comprehensive evaluation methodologies, particularly in real-world conditions. To address this gap, our protocol combines quantitative and qualitative assessments across three phases. In the initial phase, the BCI prototype's technical robustness is validated. Subsequently, the second phase involves a performance assessment of the control system. The third phase introduces a comparative analysis between the prototype and an alternative approach, incorporating detailed user experience evaluations through questionnaires and comparisons with non-BCI control methods. Participants engage in various tasks, such as object sorting, picking and placing, and playing a board game using the BCI control system. The evaluation procedure is designed for versatility, intending applicability beyond the specific use case presented. Its adaptability enables easy customization to meet the specific user requirements of the investigated BCI control application. This user-centric evaluation protocol offers a comprehensive framework for iterative improvements to the BCI prototype, ensuring technical validation, performance assessment, and user experience evaluation in a systematic and user-focused manner.
脑机接口（BCI）使用户能够通过大脑活动来控制设备。运动想象（MI），即个体想象执行某个动作时产生的神经活动，是一种常见的控制范式。本研究引入了一种以用户为中心的评估方案，用于评估基于运动想象的脑机接口控制系统在增强现实环境下的性能和用户体验。增强现实通过展示环境感知动作来增强用户交互，并指导用户针对特定设备命令进行必要的想象动作。现有研究的一个主要不足是缺乏全面的评估方法，尤其是在现实世界条件下。为了弥补这一不足，我们的方案在三个阶段结合了定量和定性评估。在初始阶段，验证脑机接口原型的技术稳健性。随后，第二阶段对控制系统进行性能评估。第三阶段对原型与另一种方法进行对比分析，通过问卷调查纳入详细的用户体验评估，并与非脑机接口控制方法进行比较。参与者使用脑机接口控制系统进行各种任务，如物品分类、拾取和放置以及玩棋盘游戏。评估程序设计具有通用性，旨在适用于所呈现的特定用例之外的情况。其适应性使其能够轻松定制，以满足所研究的脑机接口控制应用的特定用户需求。这种以用户为中心的评估方案为脑机接口原型的迭代改进提供了一个全面的框架，以系统且以用户为重点的方式确保技术验证、性能评估和用户体验评估。
