Without hands, without keyboard, directly relying on ideas, output 691.55 bits per minute on the computer screen, which is equivalent to outputting 69 Chinese characters per minute.
The output is 691.55 bits per minute, the highest score in the brain-controlled typing challenge.
Just now, China's new record of typing using brain-computer interface technology was born in the third China brain-computer interface competition!
From August 20th to 25th, the 2019 World Robotics Conference was held in Beijing. "BCI Brain-Controlled Robot Competition and the 3rd China Brain-Computer Interface Competition" is one of the most watched events held during the conference.
The brain-controlled wheelchair displayed at the 2019 World Robotics Conference directly uses brain waves to control the wheelchair activities.
Let me briefly introduce the situation of the competition.
Gao Xiaorong, deputy director of the expert committee of the brain-computer interface competition and professor of the Department of Biomedical Engineering of Tsinghua University School of Medicine, introduced in an interview with a reporter from the Science and Technology Daily that the third China brain-computer interface competition is divided into a skill competition and a technology competition. A total of more than 2,000 people participated in the preliminary round of the skill competition, and 40 players entered the final. At the same time, more than 400 teams participated in the preliminary rounds of the technical competition, and 16 teams entered the finals.
After fierce competition over the past few days, the skill competition determined the best brain-control player from the 40 finalists, and the technical competition determined the team that provided the best brain-computer interface algorithm from the 16 finalists.
On the morning of the 24th, the brain-controlled typing record challenge officially started: let the best brain-controlled players use the best brain-computer interface algorithms to challenge new brain-controlled records. This is like asking the best racer to drive the best car and challenge the racing record.
Brain-controlled typing record challenge scene
A total of 3 contestants participated in the Brain-Controlled Typing Record Challenge. They were the champion and runner-up of this year's event, and the champion of last year's event. The best brain-computer interface algorithm comes from a team of researchers from the University of Macau and the University of Hong Kong.
The creator of this challenge record is also the champion of this year's China brain-computer interface competition-Wei Siwen, a second-year graduate student from the Neural Engineering and Rehabilitation Laboratory of the School of Precision Instruments, Tianjin University.
The creator of the brain-controlled typing record is Wei Siwen, a student from the School of Precision Instruments, Tianjin University
On the 23rd, Wei Siwen's championship result was a brain-controlled typing speed of over 500 bits per minute. On the 24th, she broke her own record with a brain-controlled typing speed of 691.55 bits per minute.
You know, the speed of ordinary people typing on a touch screen mobile phone is 600 bits per minute. In other words, this contestant can surpass ordinary people typing on touch screen mobile phones with the fastest typing speed of brainwaves.
Of course, the generation of this record also benefits from the powerful brain-computer interface algorithm. Professor Wan Feng of the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Macau and Professor Hu Yong of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong introduced in an interview with a reporter from the Science and Technology Daily that the brain-computer interface algorithm developed by the University of Macau and the University of Hong Kong scientific research team applied advanced machine learning methods and adaptive optimization. Strategy.
Wan Feng and Hu Yong introduced that by setting the system, contestants can achieve faster brain-controlled typing, but this will increase the brain fatigue of the contestants. Tests show that using this algorithm, ordinary people can use brain waves to type at a speed of 200 to 300 bits per minute, which is about 20 Chinese characters.
"The brain-computer interface paradigm used in the Brain-Controlled Typing Record Challenge is the SSVEP paradigm, which is a brain-computer interface paradigm independently developed by Chinese researchers. It has been juxtaposed with the P300 paradigm proposed by American researchers and the sports imagination paradigm proposed by European researchers. It is the three major paradigms in the field of international brain-computer interface." Gao Xiaorong told a reporter from Science and Technology Daily.
The EEG caps used by the players are non-invasive brain-computer interface devices
According to Wu Haolin, a research assistant at the Tsinghua University School of Medicine, a staff member of the competition preparations, in this paradigm, the characters on the screen are encoded at different frequencies. When the contestants wear EEG caps to see the characters flashing on the screen, different frequencies are given to them. Vision brings different stimuli, thus producing different brain wave signals. After the brain-computer interface device captures the brain wave signal and recognizes it, it will output the target character on the screen.
What is the future use of brainwave typing?
In Wanfeng's view, the future application scenarios will be very extensive. For example, astronauts may need to perform multiple operations at the same time in a spacecraft, so that they can use brain waves to give instructions, thereby freeing up both hands to perform other operations.
For another example, in a video game scenario, players do not need to use the mouse and keyboard to operate in a duel. They only need to stare at the "enemy" on the screen to attack them.
"At present, the application of brain-computer interface in the practical field is not particularly mature, but it can be implemented in the laboratory for some demonstrations."