Multi-command Tactile and Auditory Brain Computer Interface based on Head Position Stimulation

We study the extent to which vibrotactile stimuli delivered to the head of a subject can serve as a platform for a brain computer interface (BCI) paradigm. Six head positions are used to evoke combined somatosensory and auditory (via the bone conduction effect) brain responses, in order to define a multimodal tactile and auditory brain computer interface (taBCI). Experimental results of subjects performing online taBCI, using stimuli with a moderately fast inter-stimulus interval (ISI), validate the taBCI paradigm, while the feasibility of the concept is illuminated through information transfer rate case studies.