T05: Neurotechnology in Human-Computer Interaction: Principles, Methods and Applications

Sunday, 19 July 2020, 13:30 – 17:30
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Javier Minguez (short bio)

Bitbrain Technologies, Spain

Luis Montesano (short bio)

Bitbrain Technologies, Spain

 

Objectives:

Human computer interaction can benefit from neurotechnology in two ways : 1) as a way to interact with machines using brain activity, a.k.a. brain computer interfaces; and 2) as a window to the brain to evaluate HCI experiences based on cognitive and emotional reactions. New advances in this field are paving the path for a successful penetration in many applications and taking these systems out of the laboratory into real world settings. This spans technological companies (e.g. Facebook recently acquired control labs), the automotive industry (e.g. Nissan developed recently a brain-2-vehicle interface) or the health and wellness sector (e.g. interfaces for neurorehabilitation or cognitive enhancement) among many others.
What can be done nowadays with neurotechnology? How should a researcher use these technologies? Where should I start? The tutorial will answer these questions by providing:
The tutorial will consist of two parts:

  1. An overview of main principles, methods and applications of neurotechnology in human-computer interaction;
  2. A hands-on example of neurotechnology usage for interaction.
The goal of the tutorial is to let attendees learn about neurotechnology applied research as well as current directions and open problems; and then learn how to apply basic and advanced principles to improve human-computer interaction.

 

Content and benefits:

The content of the tutorial is:

  • Technology: non-invasive brain-computer interfacing hardware and software that should be used for each specific problem and application context.
  • Neural processes during interaction: emotional states (feelings, emotional impact, etc), cognitive states (attention, memorization, etc) or sensory motor states (motor anticipation, etc).
  • Experimental design and procedures: sample selection, field work practicalities, metrics and analysis, and design of the online or offline interaction.
  • Trends, direction and open problems in the usage of neurotechnology for monitoring, intervention and interaction.
  • Examples of applications of brain-computer interfaces (brain-control of devices, brain-centered neurorehabilitation, UX mediated by neuro/biometry, etc).
  • Hands-on demo of a neurotechnology with the full pipeline, i.e. with hardware, software and analytics.
Image of Typical setup for the hands-on demo using modern neurotechnology.

Typical setup for the hands-on demo using modern neurotechnology.
The attendees will learn how to operate the full system.

Attendees will benefit from a broad survey of neurotechnology and brain-computer interface research and they will gain experience from working with modern EEG devices, brain computer interface examples, software for data collection and for data analyses.

 

Target Audience:

The tutorial welcomes attendees at all levels of experience in research or industry. There is not need of prior knowledge as the tutorial will be self-contained.

Bio Sketches of Presenters:

Javier Minguez

  • Professor of Computer Science and Lecturer of Neurotechnology in the Neuroscience Biomedical and Engineering Schools at the University of Zaragoza (Spain), and invited lecturer and researcher at 10+ academic institutions such as Stanford University or IE Business School.
  • Co-founder of Bitbrain Technologies, global leading company in the development of neurotechnologies for markets like Health, Market Research, Entertainment, etc
  • Principal investigator of 30+ projects from public entities such as the European Commission and the Spanish Ministry of Science.
  • 120+ research publications and 5+ patents in the areas of neuroscience, neural engineering, brain-machine technology, human-computer interaction, cognitive and motor neurorehabilitation, intelligent robotics, and market research
  • R&D achievements: several early prototypes of robots controlled by brain-computer interfaces (a wheelchair, a telepresence robot and a robotic arm), the first neurotechnology for personalized cognitive enhancement, and the first neurotechnology for emotion/engagement detection in market research
  • Received 25+ international awards such as the Iberoamerican Award to Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the second prize in the European Commission-ICT Best Company and Best Investment Opportunity, and the International Entrepreneur Award of the Everis Fundation.

Luis Montesano

  • Professor of Computer Science and head and founder of the Learning lab in the University of Zaragoza (Spain). Joined Bitbrain in July 2015 as Scientific director, leading the R&D activities in the company, management of R&D projects and technology forecasting.
  • Invited lecturer and researcher in 10+ academic institutions such as UBC, Vancouver, Freiburg University, Germany, Tecnologico de Monterey, Mexico, EPFL, Lausanne, KTH, Stockholm ...
  • 70+ research publications in the areas of robotics, machine learning, neuroscience, neural engineering, brainmachine technology, human-computer interaction, cognitive and motor neurorehabilitation.
  • Principal investigator of 15+ projects from public entities such as the European Commission and the Spanish Ministry of Science.
  • R&D achievements: participated in the development of the iCub platform (robot cub.org), developer of assistive technologies (i.e. intelligent wheelchair)