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Zen Cat: A Meditation-Based Brain-Computer Interface Game

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Computational Science and Its Applications – ICCSA 2018 (ICCSA 2018)

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Abstract

Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) are specialized systems that allow any person, including patients suffering from physical paralysis, to control applications using only their brain waves. Recently, BCI started to find applications outside of the medical field, as the development of consumer-grade BCI technology allowed the implementation of entertainment systems, which are more accessible for the general public, although there are still many challenges regarding the design and development of this kind of game. This work presents the development process and the evaluation of the Zen Cat software, a computer game application based on BCI interaction which incentives players to relax using neurofeedback. The game was developed using an iterative process, and evaluated for two weeks by sixteen volunteer subjects. The results of the evaluation may be of guidance for the development of future BCI-based games.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Physical Artifacts of Interaction Research Group (PAIRG) at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), and partially funded by the Brazilian National Council of Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), under grants 130158/2015-1 and 146931/2017-3. We also would like to thank by resources of the PAIRG’s Laboratory of Physical and Physiological Computing (PAIRG L2PC) at UFRN, and the subjects who volunteered to participate in the evaluation of the Zen Cat.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Informatics and Applied Mathematics, Federal University of Rio Grande Do Norte (UFRN), Natal, RN, 59078-970, Brazil

    Gabriel Alves Mendes Vasiljevic, Leonardo Cunha de Miranda & Bruna Camila de Menezes

Authors
  1. Gabriel Alves Mendes Vasiljevic
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  2. Leonardo Cunha de Miranda
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  3. Bruna Camila de Menezes
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gabriel Alves Mendes Vasiljevic .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy

    Osvaldo Gervasi

  2. University of Basilicata, Potenza, Italy

    Beniamino Murgante

  3. Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria

    Sanjay Misra

  4. Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia

    Elena Stankova

  5. Polytechnic University of Bari, Bari, Italy

    Carmelo M. Torre

  6. University of Minho, Braga, Portugal

    Ana Maria A.C. Rocha

  7. Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia

    David Taniar

  8. Kyushu Sangyo University, Fukuoka shi, Fukuoka, Japan

    Bernady O. Apduhan

  9. Politecnico di Bari, Bari, Italy

    Eufemia Tarantino

  10. Myongji University, Yongin, Korea (Republic of)

    Yeonseung Ryu

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Vasiljevic, G.A.M., de Miranda, L.C., de Menezes, B.C. (2018). Zen Cat: A Meditation-Based Brain-Computer Interface Game. In: Gervasi, O., et al. Computational Science and Its Applications – ICCSA 2018. ICCSA 2018. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 10960. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95162-1_20

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95162-1_20

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-95162-1

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