Measuring brain activity with a modified business virtual reality headset

Researchers have modified a business virtual reality headset, giving it the flexibility to measure brain activity and examine how we react to hints, stressors and other outside forces.

The research team at The University of Texas at Austin created a noninvasive electroencephalogram (EEG) sensor that they installed in a Meta VR headset that might be worn comfortably for long periods. The EEG measures the brain’s electrical activity through the immersive VR interactions.

The device could possibly be utilized in some ways, from helping individuals with anxiety, to measuring the eye or mental stress of aviators using a flight simulator, to giving a human the prospect to see through the eyes of a robot.

Virtual reality is so rather more immersive than simply doing something on a giant screen. It gives the user a more realistic experience, and our technology enables us to improve measurements of how the brain is reacting to that environment.”

Nanshu Lu, Professor, Cockrell School of Engineering’s Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics

The research is published in Soft Science.

The pairing of VR and EEG sensors has made its way into the business sphere already. Nonetheless, the devices that exist today are costly, and the researchers say their electrodes are more comfortable for the user, extending the potential wearing time and opening up additional applications.

One of the best EEG devices today consist of a cap covered in electrodes, but that doesn’t work well with the VR headset. And individual electrodes struggle to get a powerful reading because our hair blocks them from connecting with the scalp. The preferred electrodes are rigid and comb-shaped, inserting through the hairs to attach with the skin, an uncomfortable experience for the user.

“All of those mainstream options have significant flaws that we tried to beat with our system,” said Hongbian Li, a research associate in Lu’s lab.

For this project, the researchers created a spongy electrode fabricated from soft, conductive materials that overcome those issues, an effort led by Li. The modified headset features electrodes across the highest strap and brow pad, a versatile circuit with conductive traces much like Lu’s electronic tattoos, and an EEG recording device attached to the back of the headset.

This technology will play into one other major research project at UT Austin: A brand new robot delivery network that can even function the most important study up to now on human-robot interactions.

Lu is a component of that project, and the VR headsets shall be utilized by people either traveling with robots or in a distant “observatory.” They’ll give you the chance to look at along from the robot’s perspective, and the device can even measure the mental load of this commentary for long periods.

“For those who can see through the eyes of the robot, it paints a clearer picture of how individuals are reacting to it and lets operators monitor their safety in case of potential accidents,” said Luis Sentis, a professor within the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics who’s co-leading the robot delivery project and is a co-author on the VR EEG paper.

To check the viability of the VR EEG headset, the researchers created a game. They worked with José del R. Millán, a school member within the Chandra Family Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Dell Medical School and an authority in brain-machine interfaces, to develop a driving simulation that has the user press a button to react to show commands.

The EEG measures the brain activity of the users as they make driving decisions. On this case, it shows how closely the topics are being attentive.

The researchers have filed preliminary patent paperwork for the EEG, and so they’re open to partner with VR firms to create a built-in version of the technology.

Other members of the research team include Hyonyoung Shin, Minsu Zhang, Nicholas Riveira and Susmita Gangopadahyay of the Chandra Family Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Andrew Yu, Heeyong Huh, Zhengjie Li, and Yifan Rao from the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics; Sangjun Kim from the Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, Jessie Peng of the Department of Biomedical Engineering; and Gubeum Kwon of Artue Associates Inc. in South Korea.