Combining Brain-Computer Interfaces and Haptics: Detecting Mental Workload to Adapt Haptic Assistance
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In this paper we introduce the combined use of Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) and Haptic interfaces. We propose to adapt haptic guides based on the mental activity measured by a BCI system. This novel approach is illustrated within a proof-of-concept system: haptic guides are toggled during a path-following task thanks to a mental workload index provided by a BCI. The aim of this system is to provide haptic assistance only when the user's brain activity reflects a high mental workload. A user study conducted with 8 participants shows that our proof-of-concept is operational and exploitable. Results show that activation of haptic guides occurs in the most difficult part of the path-following task. Moreover it allows to increase task performance by 53 results suggest that BCI could be used to determine when the user needs assistance during haptic interaction and to enable haptic guides accordingly.
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