BCI Events 2015 / 2016

Interest in BCIs is growing both by the scientific community, medical and general public. An example of this is the growing number of solutions, published articles and events related to this area.

Here's the list for the next world events described by name, local and date:

• Cybathlon 2016 – Switzerland, October 2016 
• International BCI Meeting 2016 – USA, May 2016 
• IEEE World Congress on Computational Intelligence – Canada, July 2016 
• 4th International Winter Conference on BCI – Korea, February 2016 
• German-Japanese workshop on Adaptive BCI - Japan, October 2015 
• International Conference on Systems and Cybernetics - China, October 2015 
• IEEE SMC 2015 5th Workshop on BMI Systems - China, October 2015 
• 4th International Workshop on Symbiotic Interaction – Germany, October 2015 
• 7th Computer Science & Electronic Eng. Conference – UK, September 2015 
• 6th International Conference on Affective Computing – China, September 2015 
• 4th Workshop on Affective Brain-Computer Interaction – China, September 2015 
• 2015 Summer School on Neurorehabilitation – Spain, September 2015

This list was obtained from BNCI Horizon 2020.

Faculty positions in Biomedical Engineering / BCI

The University of California at Davis has positions available in Brain-Computer Interfaces area. 

The research program of a successful candidate is expected to integrate campus strengths in engineering, neurosciences, and medicine. Candidates interested in helping lead efforts to integrate these disciplines on the UC Davis campus, possibly as part of a new Center for Neuroengineering & Medicine, are encouraged to apply. The current positions are part of a cluster of hires that will also include an associated position in neurobiology/motor control.

For more information press here.

International Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) Meeting 2016

The new BCI meeting is schedule for May 30, 2016 in California, USA. 

Main objectives of this event:

1. Bringing together and fostering productive interactions (...);
2. Presenting a comprehensive review of the current state of BCI research;
3. Addressing in focused workshops (...) for continued progress in BCI research;
4. Promoting the education and development of new researchers (...);
5. Maximizing the (...) meeting impact through publication by the BCI Journal (...);
6. Defining member benefits and Society-led projects for the newly formed BCI Society. 

6. 
   

This meeting will bring together scientists, engineers, and clinicians involved in BCI research and clinical use and will contribute greatly to BCI development.

For more informations press here.

Neuroanatomy - Human Brain

A new online application HNBS allows you to identify the various areas of the human brain just clicking the interest point.

The module interface is meant to mimic a radiology workstation with adjacent image scrolling via arrow keys and or mouse wheel button. Hover the cursor over a structure of interest; if active, its name will appear underneath the image. Clicking the mouse button in an active area will synchronize and cross reference all image planes.  To instantly navigate in all image planes move the mouse while holding down the mouse button.

Try it now pressing here.

BCI job (PhD position) at Université de Genève

The Swiss Center for Affective Sciences and Computer Vision and Multimedia Laboratory (CVML) are looking for a candidate with a solid background in signal processing for a fully-funded PhD position at the computer science department, University of Geneva. 

The research focuses on analyzing the interactions between facial expressions and EEG signals with the aim of reducing unwanted interferences and recognizing emotions. Research will involve recording and analyzing EEG signals and facial expressions using Bayesian estimation methods.

Required qualifications

• An MSc in a field related to one or more of the following: electrical engineering, computer science, applied mathematics;
• Strong knowledge of signal processing and statistics;
• Strong programming skills in Matlab or Python;
• Interest in performing experiments with humans including recording multimodal sensorial data from volunteer participants;
• Ability to communicate and report research results in English.

Salary 

• CHF52’000/year, +/- 4.000€/month, before tax and social charges

Starting date 

• Preferably by January 2016

For more informations press  here.

FlexCtrl - A new EEG / BCI capture device

A new EEG capture device with 32-channel headset was announced.  This project was found as a BCI crowdfunding campaign in Indiegogo.

Their web page is still under constrution and in my opinion this project does not respond to some fundamental questions: 

• What kind of dry sensors are used?
• How does it react with long hair?
• When the SDK will be available?

Let's wait for the answers...!

Play computer games without using your hands or feet

New BCI solutions are increasingly common in laboratories and research institutes. One such example is the project developed by Christoph Hintermüller and his team from g.tec Guger Technologies. He says: “We have developed so called brain-computer interfaces which allow the user to control different devices and programmes without hands, by means of the user’s thoughts.”

This is one more approach to play a computer game hands-free. Using SSVEP the user selects the commands by simply looking at the blinking arrows on the screen. The frequency of the flashing is reproduced in the brain cortex and read by the electrodes at occipital area.

Also Arnau Manzanal of the research and development department says: "As soon as we have understood the electroencephalography patterns produced by the groups of neurons in the brain, we can map the brain activity to any commands for any device, like a television or a motorised system for the home".

More information about this article can be found here.