Wednesday, April 13, 2011

The effects of alcohol as measured with EEG signals

Using the Emotiv EPOC, I propose to measure the emotions and level of focus of participants as they consume alcohol. The Affectiv Suite will be used to gauge the wearer's level of Engagement/Boredom, Frustration, Meditation, Instantaneous Excitement, and Long Term Excitement. The Cognitiv Suite's suites initial training program will be used for testing levels of focus.

Purpose/Questions:
Essentially a variation on the Ballmer Peak. At what BAC do people have the highest/lowest focus? Highest/lowest emotional levels? Are there differences between the different 'types of drunks' for these measures? Can EEG signals be used to measure the effects of alcohol? Finally, and possibly most importantly, will the IRB give me approval to get people drunk in a controlled environment in the name of science?

User Study Format:
  • Get participants who are at least 21 years of age (for this to be official research).
    • Survey to determine exposure to BCIs, drinking tendencies, what kind of 'drunk' they are, gender, age, etc.
  • Perform initial training set on participants. Number of training sets per participant to be determined.
    • Record neutral states for each participant.
    • Have each participant train one of the movements (i.e., lift the cube) in the Emotiv Control Panel training program.
    • Measure peak level of focus behind movement.
    • Using Affectiv Suite, measure emotional levels.
  • Have participants drink. At set consumption intervals, have participants try and perform their trained movement.
    • Set number of tries to perform movement.
    • Measure peak level of focus behind movement.
    • Using Affectiv Suite, measure emotional levels.
    • Bonus: Create secondary, tertiary, etc. profiles for each participant and record new neutral states for later comparison.
  • Repeat until everyone is legally drunk (.08 BAC in Texas). Same measurements taken at each step.
  • Ask participants at which point they felt that were most focused/emotional.
Analysis:
  • Comparisons of neutral states at varying BAC levels.
  • Comparisons of focus levels for task.
  • Comparisons of emotional readings.
  • Correlation between 'type of drunk' and results?
  • Accuracy of a participant's perceived moments of highest focus/emotion with the recorded information.
 
Note: This proposed study, and any others that I post, are my own ideas unless otherwise stated. Please do not steal them without giving the proper credit!

Monday, April 11, 2011

Think about it

There should be a way to monitor the emotional state of other people for signs of depression, uncontrolled anger, suicidal indicators, etc., using BCIs. I know that the military has identified issues with Soldiers' mental health and has begun to incorporate new total fitness programs that are geared towards eliminating the stigma that showing emotion or needed medication is a weakness. Could not a BCI be used to check how a person feels below the surface, beyond their responses? Could we peer into the mind of the wearer, and see what they feel?

Friday, April 8, 2011

Prologue

I blame my interest in computer science on a love of science fiction novels. Isaac Asimov, more specifically, has influenced me to open my mind and dream beyond myself. There is a future out there that has been hinted at by the greatest novelists and scientists of multiple generations. But this future will not come to be without innovators, researchers, and dreamers. I am, unfortunately, more of a dreamer than anything else. But the research and innovation are on their way...

My name is Chris Aikens. I work in the Sketch Recognition Lab (SRL) at Texas A&M University (TAMU). I am currently pursuing an M.S. in Computer Science under the advisement of Dr. Tracy Hammond. Our lab is currently conducting research in sketch recognition, education, haptics, augmented reality (AR), gesture recognition, mobile computing, and brain computer interfaces (BCIs). We develop libraries and user-centered applications for researchers, educators, students, and other user bases. For more information on our lab and a look at our researchers, visit our website.

I received my B.S. in Computer Science from TAMU in August 2010. My coursework focused on computer-human interaction (CHI) and information. My interests are in human-centered design, pervasive computing, and project management. My interest in BCIs grew out of my first graduate research project known as 'GeoTrooper'.

This blog will track the progress of my research, interesting findings, previous work, and my ideas about the present and future of BCIs and technology in general. Basically, I am forcing myself to keep up with my work and that of others while still giving myself a creative outlet for new ideas. If you are interested in BCIs, me (in a non-creepy way of course), or the life of a graduate student, then this is the place to be.