Brain-Computer Interface Spellers: A Review

A Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) provides a novel non-muscular communication method via brain signals. A BCI-speller can be considered as one of the first published BCI applications and has opened the gate for many advances in the field. Although many BCI-spellers have been developed during the last few decades, to our knowledge, no reviews have described the different spellers proposed and studied in this vital field. The presented speller systems are categorized according to major BCI paradigms: P300, steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP), and motor imagery (MI). Different BCI paradigms require specific electroencephalogram (EEG) signal features and lead to the development of appropriate Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs). The purpose of this review is to consolidate the most successful BCI-spellers published since 2010, while mentioning some other older systems which were built explicitly for spelling purposes. We aim to assist researchers and concerned individuals in the field by illustrating the highlights of different spellers and presenting them in one review. It is almost impossible to carry out an objective comparison between different spellers, as each has its variables, parameters, and conditions. However, the gathered information and the provided taxonomy about different BCI-spellers can be helpful, as it could identify suitable systems for first-hand users, as well as opportunities of development and learning from previous studies for BCI researchers.