A multimodal interface device for online board games designed for sight-impaired people.

Online games between remote opponents playing over computer networks are becoming a common activity of everyday life. However, computer interfaces for board games are usually based on the visual channel. For example, they require players to check their moves on a video display and interact by using pointing devices such as a mouse. Hence, they are not suitable for visually impaired people. The present paper discusses a multipurpose system that allows especially blind and deafblind people playing chess or other board games over a network, therefore reducing their disability barrier. We describe and benchmark a prototype of a special interactive haptic device for online gaming providing a dual tactile feedback. The novel interface of this proposed device is able to guarantee not only a better game experience for everyone but also an improved quality of life for sight-impaired people.

Preliminary experimentation on vibrotactile feedback in the context of mu-rhythm based BCI.

Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) need an uninterrupted flow of feedback to the user, which is usually delivered through the visual channel. Our aim is to explore the benefits of vibrotactile feedback during users' training and control of EEG-based BCI applications. An experimental setup for delivery of vibrotactile feedback, including specific hardware and software arrangements, was specified. We compared vibrotactile and visual feedback, addressing the performance in presence of a complex visual task on the same (visual) or different (tactile) sensory channel. The preliminary experimental setup included a simulated BCI control. in which all parts reflected the computational and actuation process of an actual BCI, except the souce, which was simulated using a "noisy" PC mouse. Results indicated that the vibrotactile channel can function as a valuable feedback modality with reliability comparable to the classical visual feedback. Advantages of using a vibrotactile feedback emerged when the visual channel was highly loaded by a complex task.

Vibrotactile feedback for brain-computer interface operation.

To be correctly mastered, brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) need an uninterrupted flow of feedback to the user. This feedback is usually delivered through the visual channel. Our aim was to explore the benefits of vibrotactile feedback during users' training and control of EEG-based BCI applications. A protocol for delivering vibrotactile feedback, including specific hardware and software arrangements, was specified. In three studies with 33 subjects (including 3 with spinal cord injury), we compared vibrotactile and visual feedback, addressing: (I) the feasibility of subjects' training to master their EEG rhythms using tactile feedback; (II) the compatibility of this form of feedback in presence of a visual distracter; (III) the performance in presence of a complex visual task on the same (visual) or different (tactile) sensory channel. The stimulation protocol we developed supports a general usage of the tactors; preliminary experimentations. All studies indicated that the vibrotactile channel can function as a valuable feedback modality with reliability comparable to the classical visual feedback. Advantages of using a vibrotactile feedback emerged when the visual channel was highly loaded by a complex task. In all experiments, vibrotactile feedback felt, after some training, more natural for both controls and SCI users.