Indoor Simulated Training Environment for Brain-Controlled Wheelchair Based on Steady-State Visual Evoked Potentials

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Rehabilitation Engineering
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Brain-controlled wheelchairs (BCWs) offer mobility solutions for individuals with motor impairments.
• Effective BCW control requires extensive user training for optimal performance and safety.
• Current training methods may lack efficiency and structured feedback for skill development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate an indoor simulated training environment for improving BCW control.
• To assess the impact of the simulated environment on user accuracy, efficiency, and task performance.
• To validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed training system.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a BCW system utilizing steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEP) and filter bank canonical correlation analysis (FBCCA) for electroencephalography (EEG) analysis.
• Design of a simulated training environment featuring scenario setup, path planning, simulated operation, and scoring.
• Conduction of a 7-day training experiment with 10 healthy subjects involving five distinct tasks to evaluate performance improvements.

Main Results:

• Significant improvement in average accuracy from 91.05% to 96.05% (p = 0.001) after training.
• Average user scores increased substantially from 79.88 to 96.66 (p < 0.001), indicating enhanced performance.
• Reduction in command usage and collisions during task completion, demonstrating improved efficiency and control (p < 0.001).

Conclusions:

• The developed indoor simulated training environment effectively enhances brain-controlled wheelchair control performance.
• The system demonstrates feasibility and effectiveness in improving user accuracy, efficiency, and overall control ability.
• This approach holds promise for accelerating skill acquisition and improving the quality of life for BCW users.