Reference Information
Embodiment in Brain-Computer Interaction
Kenton O'Hara, Abigail Sellen, Richard Harper
Presented at CHI 2011, May 7-12, 2011, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Author Bios
Summary
Hypothesis
There is a need to better understand the potential for brain-computer interaction, and the authors assert that the study of the whole body interaction is important rather than just the brain.
Methods
To determine user perception of BCI, the researchers conduct a study that uses the MindFlex game. MindFlex is a commercially available product that measures a user's "focus" and uses that measurement to control a fan that can raise or lift a ball in the air. The more focus detected, the faster the fan blows, the higher the ball floats. 16 participants were found for the study and were in 4 distinct social groups meaning they knew each other prior to the study. Each group was given a MindFlex game for one week, video recording every play session which was to be analyzed by the researchers once returned.
Results
Body position was found to play a large role in game play, with participants orienting themselves based on the task they were attempting. For example, when concentrating harder, they might scrunch their face or clench their fists. Then, when not concentrating as hard, the gestures relaxed. The researchers also noticed the addition of narratives that arose when giving instruction between players, which was more than the game required. And finally, they noticed a certain level of "performance" that went along with the activity.
Contents
Discussion
This paper was ridiculously cool because of the whole mind control aspect. I think the authors did a good job in presenting this technology.
Embodiment in Brain-Computer Interaction
Kenton O'Hara, Abigail Sellen, Richard Harper
Presented at CHI 2011, May 7-12, 2011, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Author Bios
- Kenton O'Hara is Senior Researcher in the Socio Digital Systems Group at Microsoft Research in Cambridge. He studies Brain-Computer Interaction.
- Abigail Sellen is a Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research Cambridge and co-manages the Socio-Digital Systems group. She holds a PhD in Cognitive Science from the University of California at San Diego.
- Richard Harper is a Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research Cambridge and co-manages the Socio-Digital Systems group. He has published over 120 papers.
Summary
Hypothesis
There is a need to better understand the potential for brain-computer interaction, and the authors assert that the study of the whole body interaction is important rather than just the brain.
Methods
To determine user perception of BCI, the researchers conduct a study that uses the MindFlex game. MindFlex is a commercially available product that measures a user's "focus" and uses that measurement to control a fan that can raise or lift a ball in the air. The more focus detected, the faster the fan blows, the higher the ball floats. 16 participants were found for the study and were in 4 distinct social groups meaning they knew each other prior to the study. Each group was given a MindFlex game for one week, video recording every play session which was to be analyzed by the researchers once returned.
Results
Body position was found to play a large role in game play, with participants orienting themselves based on the task they were attempting. For example, when concentrating harder, they might scrunch their face or clench their fists. Then, when not concentrating as hard, the gestures relaxed. The researchers also noticed the addition of narratives that arose when giving instruction between players, which was more than the game required. And finally, they noticed a certain level of "performance" that went along with the activity.
Contents
The paper focuses on the importance of
understanding how the body as a whole interacts when accomplishing
something that requires the brain to concentrate. The experiments are
focused on looking into how people would behave and interact with this
game called mindflex. The researchers were able to find behavioral
patterns that were quite consistent.
Discussion
This paper was ridiculously cool because of the whole mind control aspect. I think the authors did a good job in presenting this technology.
