Television Remote Control System Based On Brain-computer Interface Technology Research And Design

It has long been known that as neurons fire from Cerebral Cortex they produce measurable electrical activity. Electroencephalography (EEG) is the measurement and recording of these electrical signals using sensors arrayed across the scalp. As the EEG procedure is non-invasive and painless, it is being widely used in the fields of neuros-cience and cognitive psychology. Due to the rapid development of electronics and computer technology, Brain Computer Interface (BCI) has been developed which has the potential to establish a direct communication channel between the cerebrum and external devices. The idea of Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) which allow the con-trol of devices using brain signals evolved from the realm of science fiction to simple devices that currently exist. During these years, the BCI technology that based on the electroencephalogram (EEG) signals has become a hot spot for researchers at home and abroad because of its important academic value and broad application prospects. BCIs naturally present themselves to many extremely useful applications including prosthetic devices, restoring or aiding in communication and hearing, military applica-tions, video gaming and virtual reality, and robotic control. It is not only a new assis-tive and control method which has the possibility of significantly improving the quality of life of many disabled individuals, but also provides a special way of communication and entertainment for normal people.The purpose of this research is to design a novel TV remote control system based on BCI. The BCI system manipulates television functions, including power, channel, and volume controls, based on the user's thoughts. The system is comprised of four components: the EEG headset, the host computer running the EmoState Analysis Software, the control circuit, and the modified Universal Remote Control. The wireless EEG headset, manufactured by Emotiv Systems, acquires bioelectric signals from the driver via 14 EEG sensors on the EPOC neuroheadset. The user first need to spend some time on the system's software tool kit before use, where they learn to move a cube back and forth on a computer screen by altering their thought patterns. Once the user wears the Emotiv headset to monitor the brain activities and transmits the raw EEG data to the host computer,so the Emotiv's commercial software installed on the computer analyzes the data and links these patterns with assigned actuations (such as channel and volume controls), and sends the appropriate commands with sends serial packets to the control circuit. The custom board firmware listens for the intended ac-tion and uses bi-lateral switches to interact with the Universal Remote Control, which uses infrared (IR) transmission send the appropriate signal to the television set.It was obviously seen from results that the user can successfully and steadily finish a series of operations. It proved that this system is feasible.