Real Time Operator Focus Monitoring System Based on a Brain-Computer Interface

Ariel Guerra, Danilo Cáceres Hernández, Fernando Merchan, Kang-Hyun Jo

Abstract: Recent advances in applications of Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) for control and communication in more complex systems have demonstrated their potential for the augmentation of human cognition. This paper aims to develop a BrainComputer Interface application capable of monitoring the focus level of a user in real time and produce a binarized output signal based on such electrophysiological activity to show that a real-time, low-cost BCI can be implemented in industrialized settings. This can be achieved by applying a signal processing stage consisting of a DC offset subtraction layer, a bandpass filter bank and a number of thresholds tuned for each individual user. Experiments performed showed that while it is possible to monitor the desired neurological features, a number of undesired artifacts present at all times in brain signals make online analysis especially challenging.