Enhancement of steady‐state visual evoked potential‐based brain–computer interface systems via a steady‐state motion visual stimulus modality

Steady‐state visual evoked potential (SSVEP)‐based brain–computer interface (BCI) systems are among the most accurate assistive devices for patients with severe disabilities. However, existing visual stimulation patterns lead to eye fatigue, which affects the system performance. Therefore, in this study, we propose two improvements to SSVEP‐based BCI systems. First, we propose a novel visual stimulator that incorporates a visual motion stimulus for the steady‐state visual stimulus to reduce eye fatigue while maintaining the advantages associated with SSVEPs. We also propose two corresponding feature extraction algorithms, i.e. SSVEP detection and visual attention detection, to capture the phenomena of steady‐state motion visual stimulus responses. The accuracy of the test was ∼83.6%. Second, we propose a novel hybrid BCI‐SSVEP system and a motion visual stimulus hybrid BCI system to enhance the SSVEP‐based BCI system during a state of eye fatigue. Participants used the SSVEP system until reaching a fatigued state and then began using a hybrid motion visual stimulus. The accuracy of the proposed system was ∼85.6%. The proposed improvements can be incorporated into practical BCI systems for wheelchair control. © 2017 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

结合表面肌电与稳态视觉诱发电位的混合脑机接口关键技术研究

脑-机接口技术旨在大脑与外部环境之间建立一种全新的不依赖于外周神经和肌肉的交流与控制通道。基于稳态视觉诱发电位的脑-机接口是目前信息传输率最高的无创脑 机接口范式，但是仍低于传统的交互方式。提出一种结合表面肌电与稳态视觉诱发电位的混合脑 机接口，以进一步提高系统的信息传输率。通过不同频率的高频稳态视觉诱发电位结合sEMG编码，实现二者混合脑 机接口系统。利用典型相关分析方法对SSVEP信号进行频率识别，sEMG的检测则采用频域分析方法。来自8名健康受试者的离线结果表明该系统能够获得8428% 的平均准确率，平均信息传输率为7263 bits/min。这些结果为结合表面肌电与稳态视觉诱发电位的混合脑 机接口研究奠定了基础。     

听觉刺激对稳态视觉诱发电位影响研究

基于稳态视觉诱发电位(steady state visual evoked potential,SSVEP)和听觉脑机接口技术目前已成为研究重点.未来的挑战是研究基于视觉和听觉联合统一系统框架的脑机接口技术.多感觉在不同脑区间存在的跨膜整合以及视听双刺激的交互作用,给该技术研究带来较大困难,故研究听觉刺激对枕区SSVEP影响很有意义.在闪光刺激频率为12 Hz,占空比分别为5％、20％、30％、40％、50％、60％、70％、80％、95％条件下,分别加入500、1 000、1 500 Hz的正弦纯音、响度为50 dB的听觉刺激,研究听觉对SSVEP的变化规律.结果表明,对同一受试者,视听双刺激条件下SSVEP随占空比变化依然呈现“窗口”效应,听觉刺激对SSVEP影响起增强或抑制作用.此外听觉刺激对SSVEP影响出现的占空比“窗口”的位置、数量以及对SSVEP增强或抑制作用的程度也因人而已.结果为更好研究视听相互作用机理及其在脑机接口技术应用提供有意义的实验依据.     

基于Resinv-Unet的图像特征点检测方法

针对传统特征点检测算法需人为制定检测机制和基于深度学习的特征点检测网络泛化能力不强的问题,引入灰度不变量和残差结构,设计并实现具备像素级特征点检测能力的残差不变量神经网络(residual-invariant neural network, Resinv-Unet)。采用自标注的方式,在真实场景图像数据集的基础上构建用于训练神经网络的数据集。实验结果表明,Resinv-Unet相较于现有的特征点检测算法和特征点检测网络,在真实场景图像上具有更强的泛化能力和鲁棒性,在平均精确度、精确度和召回率上均取得更好的性能指标,其中,平均精确度达到0.715 5、精确度达到0.776 2、召回率达到0.713 7。     

基于SSVEP的脑-机接口自动车系统研究

阐述了视觉诱发电位用于脑-机接口的原理,系统采用单片机设计视觉刺激器,同时在LABVIEW平台上,利用希尔伯特黄变换实时提取诱发电位向量,产生脑机接口控制信号,并用于自动车控制系统,从而控制小车的前后左右运动.通过大量实验验证,设计的基于稳态视觉诱发电位的脑-机接口自动车控制系统,发送控制命令正确率高于83％,发送一个...     

基于Hilbert Huang变换的SSVEP相位提取

稳态视觉诱发电位(steady-state visual evoked potential,SSVEP)被广泛应用于脑-机接口和大脑的认知研究,相位信息是其重要的特征指标之一.针对快速傅里叶变换在SSVEP相位提取中受不确定性原理约束的特点,提出了一种基于Hilbert-Huang变换的SSVEP相位提取方法.该方法通过经验模态分解将脑电信号分解为一系列固有模态函数(intrinsic mode functions,IMF),并通过分析各模态函数瞬时频率的均值判断该IMF分量是否属于噪声.若为噪声则将其从原始信号中滤除,再对滤波后的各IMF分量进行Hilbert变换,并与基准信号做运算即可求得SSVEP相位.实验结果表明,与快速傅里叶法相比该方法可在去除噪声分量的同时提取SSVEP的相位信息,且具有较高的准确率、精度和自适应性.     

Dry and noncontact EEG sensors for mobile brain-computer interfaces

Dry and noncontact electroencephalographic (EEG) electrodes, which do not require gel or even direct scalp coupling, have been considered as an enabler of practical, real-world, brain-computer interface (BCI) platforms. This study compares wet electrodes to dry and through hair, noncontact electrodes within a steady state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) BCI paradigm. The construction of a dry contact electrode, featuring fingered contact posts and active buffering circuitry is presented. Additionally, the development of a new, noncontact, capacitive electrode that utilizes a custom integrated, high-impedance analog front-end is introduced. Offline tests on 10 subjects characterize the signal quality from the different electrodes and demonstrate that acquisition of small amplitude, SSVEP signals is possible, even through hair using the new integrated noncontact sensor. Online BCI experiments demonstrate that the information transfer rate (ITR) with the dry electrodes is comparable to that of wet electrodes, completely without the need for gel or other conductive media. In addition, data from the noncontact electrode, operating on the top of hair, show a maximum ITR in excess of 19 bits/min at 100% accuracy (versus 29.2 bits/min for wet electrodes and 34.4 bits/min for dry electrodes), a level that has never been demonstrated before. The results of these experiments show that both dry and noncontact electrodes, with further development, may become a viable tool for both future mobile BCI and general EEG applications.     

ASMI-BCI 特征调制及分类性能研究

基于运动想象(MI)的脑-机接口(BCI)近年来被应用于肢体运动功能的可塑性康复。采用视觉辅助刺激可以有效增强MI-BCI系统的分类性能,但视觉障碍患者无法使用。因此本文设计了基于听觉辅助刺激的ASMI-BCI,发现动态声音辅助刺激可以提高大脑运动相关皮层的兴奋性,增强系统的可分性特征。10名在校大学生(5男5女,平均22.6岁)3类实验范式(C-SW、C-DA、C-DV)的平均结果表明,C-SW范式分类正确率最低、C-DA次之、C-DV范式正确率最高。听觉辅助刺激范式的最优分类正确率可达76.03%,相比传统MI-BCI范式显著性提升了8.83%,且60%的被试使用该范式的分类正确率可高于70%。使用动态听觉辅助刺激范式可以为视觉障碍患者提供一种特征调制和BCI性能增强的新模式、新方法。     

视觉通路下闪光刺激对SSVEP影响的仿真研究

稳态视觉诱发电位(steady-state visual evoked potentials,SSVEP)是一种在频率固定的重复视觉刺激下出现的大脑皮层稳态响应。针对目前不同学者在不同实验条件下测试闪光刺激的参数(占空比、频率)对SSVEP影响结果差异较大而难以归纳其共性规律问题,本文基于集总参数模型法,将光刺激下视觉通路的同一类神经元等效为一个单元,利用单元间的耦合系数建立视觉通路计算模型,并通过该模型仿真研究闪光刺激的占空比和频率对SSVEP影响的初步规律,为刺激参数的选择提供有价值的理论依据。最后通过实验验证了模型的可靠性及结论的有效性。     

Brain-computer interfaces for 1-D and 2-D cursor control: designs using volitional control of the EEG spectrum or steady-state visual evoked potentials.

We have developed and tested two electroencephalogram (EEG)-based brain-computer interfaces (BCI) for users to control a cursor on a computer display. Our system uses an adaptive algorithm, based on kernel partial least squares classification (KPLS), to associate patterns in multichannel EEG frequency spectra with cursor controls. Our first BCI, Target Practice, is a system for one-dimensional device control, in which participants use biofeedback to learn voluntary control of their EEG spectra. Target Practice uses a KPLS classifier to map power spectra of 62-electrode EEG signals to rightward or leftward position of a moving cursor on a computer display. Three subjects learned to control motion of a cursor on a video display in multiple blocks of 60 trials over periods of up to six weeks. The best subject's average skill in correct selection of the cursor direction grew from 58% to 88% after 13 training sessions. Target Practice also implements online control of two artifact sources: 1) removal of ocular artifact by linear subtraction of wavelet-smoothed vertical and horizontal electrooculograms (EOG) signals, 2) control of muscle artifact by inhibition of BCI training during periods of relatively high power in the 40-64 Hz band. The second BCI, Think Pointer, is a system for two-dimensional cursor control. Steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEP) are triggered by four flickering checkerboard stimuli located in narrow strips at each edge of the display. The user attends to one of the four beacons to initiate motion in the desired direction. The SSVEP signals are recorded from 12 electrodes located over the occipital region. A KPLS classifier is individually calibrated to map multichannel frequency bands of the SSVEP signals to right-left or up-down motion of a cursor on a computer display. The display stops moving when the user attends to a central fixation point. As for Target Practice, Think Pointer also implements wavelet-based online removal of ocular artifact; however, in Think Pointer muscle artifact is controlled via adaptive normalization of the SSVEP. Training of the classifier requires about 3 min. We have tested our system in real-time operation in three human subjects. Across subjects and sessions, control accuracy ranged from 80% to 100% correct with lags of 1-5 s for movement initiation and turning. We have also developed a realistic demonstration of our system for control of a moving map display (http://ti.arc.nasa.gov/).     

Independence of amplitude-frequency and phase calibrations in an SSVEP-based BCI using stepping delay flickering sequences

This study proposes a steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP)-based brain-computer interface (BCI) independent of amplitude-frequency and phase calibrations. Six stepping delay flickering sequences (SDFSs) at 32-Hz flickering frequency were used to implement a six-command BCI system. EEG signals recorded from Oz position were first filtered within 29-35 Hz, segmented based on trigger events of SDFSs to obtain SDFS epochs, and then stored separately in epoch registers. An epoch-average process suppressed the inter-SDFS interference. For each detection point, the latest six SDFS epochs in each epoch register were averaged and the normalized power of averaged responses was calculated. The visual target that induced the maximum normalized power was identified as the visual target. Eight subjects were recruited in this study. All subjects were requested to produce the "563241" command sequence four times. The averaged accuracy, command transfer interval, and information transfer rate (mean ± std.) values for all eight subjects were 97.38 ± 5.97%, 3.56 ± 0.68 s, and 42.46 ± 11.17 bits/min, respectively. The proposed system requires no calibration in either the amplitude-frequency characteristic or the reference phase of SSVEP which may provide an efficient and reliable channel for the neuromuscular disabled to communicate with external environments.     

基于便携式脑电信号采集器的脑-机器人交互系统

针对现有高精度脑电信号采集设备体积笨重、成本高、无法普及的问题,开发了便携低成本的多通道脑电信号采集器,并以可编程可定制的乐高机器人为应用实例,搭建了集注意力训练、教育、娱乐于一体的脑-机器人交互系统。脑电信号采集器内置锂电池,体积为65 mm×40 mm×21 mm,重约60 g,以无线方式传输信号。在此基础上,结合典型相关分析(canonical correlation analysis,CCA)与快速傅里叶变换(fast Fourier transformation,FFT),提出了基于CCA-Wx-FFT的SSVEP特征提取算法,对采集器信号进行分析,以确保对机器人的精确控制。10名被试的测试结果表明,本系统获得了与高精度EEG设备相近的信号特征和控制准确率(92.6%vs 94.1%)。这一脑-机器人交互系统极大地降低了系统开发的成本,方便携带,易于扩展,对脑控的普及具有重要的应用价值。     

异步BCI的大脑工作和空闲状态的辨识方法研究

基于事件相关电位的脑-机接口系统难以检测大脑的空闲状态,限制了被试在任意时间输出指令的自由。利用欧德堡范式同时诱发N200电位、P300电位和瞬态视觉诱发电位。根据瞬态视觉诱发电位的频域特征区分大脑的工作状态和空闲状态;在工作状态下利用N200和P300电位的时域特征识别被试的控制意图,从而构建异步的脑-机接口系统。通过对7名健康被试进行发送指令与观看视频反馈两种状态的实验,实现大脑的工作状态和空闲状态之间的切换。该方法识别大脑状态或者意图的准确率为98.21%,与基于事件相关电位识别空闲状态的方法相比提高了50.89%。     

A wavelet‐based piecewise approach for steady‐state analysis of power electronics circuits

Simulation of steady‐state waveforms is important to the design of power electronics circuits, as it reveals the maximum voltage and current stresses being imposed upon specific devices and components. This paper proposes an improved approach to finding steady‐state waveforms of power electronics circuits based on wavelet approximation. The proposed method exploits the time‐domain piecewise property of power electronics circuits in order to improve the accuracy and computational efficiency. Instead of applying one wavelet approximation to the whole period, several wavelet approximations are applied in a piecewise manner to fit the entire waveform. This wavelet‐based piecewise approximation approach can provide very accurate and efficient solution, with much less number of wavelet terms, for approximating steady‐state waveforms of power electronics circuits. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于稳态视觉诱发电位的相频特性分类算法研究

目前基于稳态视觉诱发电位（SSVEP）的脑-机接口在人机协作中受到广泛关注,现有面向SSVEP信号的相位与频率信息的深度学习分类方法,仍存在由于信息利用不充分导致的SSVEP信号分类效果较差等问题。而目前已出现多种分类算法用于解决上述问题。本文基于迁移学习思想提出一种用于SSVEP信号分类的深度神经网络模型,将快速傅里叶变换后的复向量作为输入,对各个导联的实、虚部向量进行卷积,学习对应的相频特性。该模型分为两部分：第一部分利用所有被试者之间的统计共性获得相位和频率信息的全局相频特征模块;第二部分利用训练好的全局相频特征模块对局部相频特征模块进行初始化,通过局部相频特征模块的进一步强化学习对训练参数进行微调,以减少每个被试者之间的个体差异。在公开数据集BETA上进行测试,在时窗长度为1.5 s时,平均准确率和平均信息传输率分别为89.98%和71.80 bit/min。实验结果表明,与其他方法相比,本文的分类算法模型取得了较为不错的分类效果,所设计的全局、局部相频特征模块能够改善个体差异因素对分类结果的影响,为深入挖掘、利用SSVEP信号中的相位和频率信息提供了全新思路。     

An improved fast decoupled power flow model considering static power–frequency characteristic of power systems with large‐scale wind power

Large‐scale wind power (LSWP) integration may cause significant impact on power system frequency, so it is necessary to take frequency regulation issues into account in power system steady‐state operation analysis. An improved fast decoupled power flow model considering static power–frequency characteristic of power systems with LSWP is proposed in this paper. In this scheme, the active power of generators and loads are presented with their static power–frequency characteristics. The slack bus degenerates to the nodal voltage phase angle reference bus of the system, and all the generators with frequency regulation capability participate in unbalanced power regulation. The power flow calculation results can reveal the impact to the system frequency of operation mode change and load variation, and present the output adjustment of the generators. The proposed model can be solved conveniently by the block solving technology based on the fast decoupled power flow algorithm. The scheme presented in this paper has been tested on the IEEE standard 30‐bus test system by simulating basic operation and primary and secondary frequency regulation of the generators, which demonstrated the validity by the method. © 2014 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Robust time‐varying Kalman estimators for systems with packet dropouts and uncertain‐variance multiplicative and linearly correlated additive white noises

This paper is concerned with robust estimation problem for a class of time‐varying networked systems with uncertain‐variance multiplicative and linearly correlated additive white noises, and packet dropouts. By augmented state method and fictitious noise technique, the original system is converted into one with only uncertain noise variances. According to the minimax robust estimation principle, based on the worst‐case system with conservative upper bounds of uncertain noise variance, the robust time‐varying Kalman estimators (filter, predictor, and smoother) are presented. A unified approach of designing the robust Kalman estimators is presented based on the robust Kalman predictor. Their robustness is proved by the Lyapunov equation approach in the sense that their actual estimation error variances are guaranteed to have the corresponding minimal upper bounds for all admissible uncertainties. Their accuracy relations are proved. The corresponding robust steady‐state Kalman estimators are also presented, and the convergence in a realization between the time‐varying and steady‐state robust Kalman estimators is proved. Finally, a simulation example applied to uninterruptible power system shows the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed results.     

A simple instant‐estimation method for time‐average quantities of single‐phase power and application to single‐phase power grid connection by inverter

This paper presents and analyzes a new simple instant‐estimation method for time‐average quantities such as rms values of voltage and current, active and reactive powers, and power factor for single‐phase power with the fundamental component of constant or nearly constant frequency by measuring instantaneous values of voltage and current. According to the analyses, the method can instantly estimate time‐average values with accuracy of the fundamental frequency, and estimation accuracy of the power factor is about two times better than that of voltage, current, and powers. The instant‐estimation method is simple and can be easily applied to single‐phase power control systems that are expected to control instantly and continuously power factor on a single‐phase grid by inverter. Based on the proposed instant‐estimation method, two methods for such power control systems are also proposed and their usefulness is verified through simulations. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 159(2): 34–43, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20236     

Research on PI–PI dual‐loop digital control technique for inverters based on state‐space theory

Dual‐loop control of the instantaneous values plays an important role in inverters whose output waveform has fast dynamic response, high steady‐state accuracy, and strong anti‐interference performances. Double closed‐loop control approaches that are widely used can be considered as those of the inner‐loop inductor current and capacitor current. However, the anti‐interference performance and the dynamic response speed of the former are not fast enough. Meanwhile, the latter cannot provide good overcurrent protection for the inverter source. Based on state‐space theory, the PI–PI control strategy of inner‐loop inductor current and outer‐loop voltage with feed‐forward control of the load current is adopted in this paper to further reduce the steady‐state error of the inverter system and improve its dynamic anti‐interference performance. The approach proposed in this paper can present fast and high‐stability performances as well as an effective overcurrent protection for the inverters. We verify the correctness of this approach by simulation and experiments, which prove the improved effectiveness of the approach through the output voltage waveform of the system. © 2014 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A new current control strategy based on the internal model principle for a current balancer in single‐phase three‐wire distribution systems

This paper proposes a new current control strategy that is based on the internal model principle for a current balancer in single‐phase three‐wire distribution systems. The proposed current control strategy includes a sinusoidal reference input model to achieve the zero steady‐state error tracking. The appropriate control gains of this control strategy can be systematically determined by using a state‐feedback controller design method via linear matrix inequalities. The basic principle of the proposed control strategy is discussed in detail, and then confirmed by digital computer simulation using the PSIM software. A prototype experimental model is constructed and tested. Experimental results demonstrate that zero steady‐state error tracking is achieved by the proposed control strategy. Also, balanced source currents are obtained on the secondary side of a pole‐mounted distribution transformer while the load conditions are unbalanced. © 2013 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.