Attention, Focus, Cognitive Load and Fatigue

For the past three years, we have been working on AttentivU, a suite of wearable, wireless devices which feature built-in electrodes to measure brain activity (EEG) and eye movements (EOG). The devices are microphone free and camera free and they are designed to improve cognitive performance of the user and promote their wellbeing in real-time using biofeedback (on device or off device). We specifically focus on the effects of different types of feedback (auditory, visual, tactile), their placement on the user’s performance. We have investigated a set of different use cases, including automotive, learning, workplace scenarios. Please check the page dedicated to the project and check the scientific publications related to AttentivU here.

Some Publications:

AttentivU: An EEG-Based Closed-Loop Biofeedback System for Real-Time Monitoring and Improvement of Engagement for Personalized Learning.
N. Kosmyna , P. Maes. 2019

AttentivU: Designing EEG and EOG Compatible Glasses for Physiological Sensing and Feedback in the Car.
Nataliya Kosmyna, Caitlin Morris, Thanh Nguyen, Sebastian Zepf, Javier Hernandez, and Pattie Maes. 2019.

AttentivU: a Biofeedback Device to Monitor and Improve Engagement in the Workplace
Nataliya Kosmyna, Pattie Maes. 2019.

Active Control

As an emerging and new interaction technology, BCIs offer a good prospect of inspiring people’s imaginations and of providing a new and enjoyable way of interaction. As an example, we have worked extensively on “drone control” project, where a commercial quadcopter can be controlled using brain signals (EEG), specifically by imagining a hand movement or a simple object to take the drone off, move it forward and land it as well as more complicated control setup options. We have been working on the drone control system since 2013 and as of 2020, we have published 7+ scientific papers, performed 400 live demos with 4000+ active participants over 3 continents, 5 countries and 57 cities. Please check the page dedicated to the project and check the scientific publications related to Drone Control here.

Drone is not the only robot we used to control using the brain activity: please check these videos to see BB-8 robot from Star Wars being controlled used brain signals.

Some Publications:

Brain-Computer Interfaces in the Wild: Lessons Learned from a Large-Scale Deployment.
Nataliya Kosmyna, 2019

Towards Brain Computer Interfaces for Recreational Activities: Piloting
 a Drone.
Nataliya Kosmyna, Franck Tarpin-Bernard and Bertrand Rivet. 2015

Brains, Computers, and Drones: Think and Control!
Nataliya Kosmyna, Franck Tarpin-Bernard and Bertrand Rivet. 2015.

Interacting with Children

We harnessed the power of knowledge-seeking positive experiences, engagement, and curiosity that objects perceived as magical carry in themselves by combining them with pop-cultural references and neuroscience in order to derive a novel intervention to foster a growth mindset in children of 8-12 years old. We created “The Thinking Cap” a wearable system in the form-factor of masks, tiaras, or helmets from different sci-fi universes like Star Wars or Avengers, fitted with a commercially available electroencephalography (EEG) headset or headband and a Bluetooth speaker. We adopt the form-factor towards the preferences of the child, which universe or hero is being their favorite one. We designed and conducted a first study with 75 children to investigate the effect of using “The Thinking Cap” to foster children’s mindset. Please check the page dedicated to the project and check the scientific publications related to the project here.

Some Publications:

The Thinking Cap: Fostering Growth Mindset Of Children By Means Of Electroencephalography And Perceived Magic of Harry Potter Universe. Nataliya Kosmyna, Cassandra Scheirer, and Pattie Maes. 2021.

"The thinking cap 2.0": preliminary study on fostering growth mindset of children by means of electroencephalography and perceived magic using artifacts from fictional sci-fi universes. Nataliya Kosmyna, Alexandra Gross, Pattie Maes. 2020

Aging, Mental and Physical Health Support

For the past three years, we have been working on AttentivU, a suite of wearable, wireless devices which feature built-in electrodes to measure brain activity (EEG) and eye movements (EOG) in real-time and to stream the data continuously. The devices are microphone free, camera free, comfortable enough to be worn over extended periods of time and they are designed to monitor and support the state of the users with ALS, CP, SCI as well as their caregivers. Currently, the system is being tested with users who have ALS, CP, ADHD and ASD. Please check the page dedicated to the project and check the scientific publications related to AttentivU here.

Some Publications:

AttentivU: An EEG-Based Closed-Loop Biofeedback System for Real-Time Monitoring and Improvement of Engagement for Personalized Learning.
N. Kosmyna , P. Maes. 2019

AttentivU: Designing EEG and EOG Compatible Glasses for Physiological Sensing and Feedback in the Car.
Nataliya Kosmyna, Caitlin Morris, Thanh Nguyen, Sebastian Zepf, Javier Hernandez, and Pattie Maes. 2019.

AttentivU: a Biofeedback Device to Monitor and Improve Engagement in the Workplace
Nataliya Kosmyna, Pattie Maes. 2019.

VR/AR/XR

In this project we proposed several prototypes which combine an existing AR headset, Microsoft’s Hololens 2 or VR headset Oculus Rift, with a Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) system based on our  AttentivU project, and we perform several tasks to validate this concept. The first application is built around the idea of enhancing the creativity of the user, where a user imagines an object and the object appears in front of him on the screen of their Hololens 2. In the second application we investigated the feasibility of using a BCI based on covert visuospatial attention – a process of focusing attention on different regions of the visual field without overt eye movements. We operated without relying on any stimulus-driven responses.  Please check the page dedicated to the project and check the scientific publication related to VR/AR/XR+BCIs here.

Some Publications:

Assessing Internal and External Attention in AR using Brain Computer Interfaces: A Pilot Study. N. Kosmyna, Q. Wu, C. -Y. Hu, Y. Wang, C. Scheirer and P. Maes. 2021

AttentivU: A Wearable Pair of EEG and EOG Glasses for Real-Time Physiological Processing
Nataliya Kosmyna, 2020

Elite Performance and Neurofeedback

Since 2016 we collaborate with INSEP, National Institute of Sport, Expertise, and Performance (Institut national du sport, de l’expertise et de la performance) which is a French teacher training institute and center for excellence in sports that trains elite athletes. In collaboration with researchers from INSEP, we work on neurofeedback application for the sportsmen. We work on creating different form-factors which could be applied in different scenarios and use cases. We also study the effects of different types of feedback (auditory/visual modalities of feedback) on performance of the sportsmen. While current state of the art presents a big body of works on meditation and mindfulness sessions provided to the sportsmen, few papers focus on biofeedback sessions during actual trainings. Also, several systems use electrical stimulation during sports training (cycling is often reported in these tests), but we believe that other modalities of the feedback might be as efficient and equally suitable and accepted by the sports community.

Smart Home Control

We have been using two different smart home platforms, where all the IoT devices inside (lights, microwave, TV) can be turned on/off using brain signals (EEG). We ran our studies with both able-bodied but also users with health challenges like ALS, Parkinson or Cerebral Palsy. Please check the page dedicated to the project and check the scientific publications related to Smart Home Control here.

Some Publications:

Feasibility of BCI Control in a Realistic Smart Home Environment.
N. Kosmyna, F. Tarpin-Bernard, N. Bonnefond and B. Rivet. 2016.

Towards An Implicit, In-Situ Training Protocol for EEG-based Brain-Computer Interfaces: a Feasibility Study.
Nataliya Kosmyna. 2019

Gaming

In this project, we used a popular game “DOOM-3” to capture player’s intent using brain activity (EEG). We additionally leveraged the scenario where the player must be “primed” by some stimulus that leads them to imagine the desired concept. Priming is an implicit memory effect in which the exposure to a stimulus influences the user’s response to another. Please check the page dedicated to the project and check the scientific publication related to the Gaming project here.

Some Publications:

Conceptual Priming for In-game BCI Training.
N. Kosmyna, F. Tarpin-Bernard and B. Rivet. 2015.