Designing Virtual Keyboards for Brain-Computer Interfaces

Abstract

Brain-Machine interfacing (BCI) is an exceptional aspect of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). BCI enables people with disabilities to interact hands-free with computers or other electronic devices using 'mental commands.' A typical BCI system emulates the basic functions of a typical input device such as a mouse by recognizing the user's intentions. Intention detection is usually achieved through the Electroencephalography (EEG) technology. In the context of BCI, virtual keyboards are often employed to simulate the physical keyboard functions. It was studied that the on-screen keyboards facilitated by the operating system of the computer are inconvenient for the BCI users. Unlike using a physical pointing device, the BCI user has to apply extra mental energy to move the cursor then to stop it on the exact key. Therefore, the requirement of designing an optimized virtual keyboard especially for BCI purpose is realized. In fact, the available keyboard layouts are inappropriate for BCIs. Alternatively, a key matrix has been suggested by some researchers. We introduce a better on-screen keyboard which has exhibited an enhancement of 11% in efficiency, by the meaning of typing speed compared to the existing designs. In addition, extended functionalities such as keyboard shortcuts are also integrated.