HIT Featured Talks: Benjamin Blankertz
Department of Developmental Psychology - Padua
18.02.2015
Brain-Computer Interface technology beyond medical applications
Time: February 18th, 2015, 14.30
Venue: Dept. of General Psychology, Via Venezia 8, Padova (Aula Magna)
Speaker: Benjamin Blankertz
Affiliation: TU Berlin - Technische Universität Berlin
Abstract:
Brain-Computer Interfacing (BCI) is a well established technology, however its application in the real world is practically absent. While the original motivation to develop BCIs and also most of current research is focused on clinical usage, a growing literature provides the foundations for novel non-medical applications. These approaches include (a) the usage of BCI as a research tool, e.g., closed loop experiments to investigate cognitive processes and psychophysical phenomena; (b) enhancement of human-computer interaction, e.g., by estimating covert user states from brain signals and employing this information for a better interpretation of the user's intent; (c) improving machines and communication tools by brain-based quality evaluation. In particular, application area (b) and partly (c) require the transfer of current technology, which is developed for restricted laboratory conditions that isolate the specific neurocognitive processes under investigation, towards realistic settings. This endeavor involves free viewing, mobility and natural stimuli. This talk will give an overview of the current state of BCI technology beyond medical applications and outline a path to explore and foster this direction of research toward realistic applicability.
Short Bio:
Benjamin Blankertz is full professor at TU Berlin and holds the chair for Neurotechnology. After receiving his PhD in mathematics in 1998 and pursuing several studies in music cognition, he started in 2000 heading the Berlin Brain-Computer Interface (BBCI) project together with Klaus-Robert Müller and Gabriel Curio. He is affiliated with the Bernstein Center of Computational Neuroscience in Berlin and codirector of the Berlin Focus Neurotechnology.
His main scientific interest is the development of methods for and applications of noninvasive brain-computer interfacing, in particular the transfer of BCI technology from the lab to real world applications. This includes the design of novel experimental paradigms and corresponding data analysis methods that bridge fundamental results to more complex and realistic scenarios. On the algorithmic side, his focus is on data-driven methods endowed with techniques to deal with the diversity and uncertainty of brain activity that is encountered in natural behavior.
