Smart home based on BCI for disabled people: A state-of-the-art review

• Main Authors: Al-Mohammadi, Mariam, Al-Nuaimi, Auns, Farah, Lama Bou
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Subjects: Air conditioning; Air monitoring; Human-computer interface; Inventions; Prostheses; Robot arms; Smart buildings; Smart houses; Smartphones; State-of-the-art reviews
• ISSN: 0094-243X; 1551-7616
• DOI: 10.1063/5.0236305

There is a growing interest in the field of brain-computer interface (BCI) that uses electroencephalography (EEG) to connect the brain to external devices. BCI aims to provide people with special needs the ability to make autonomous decisions in so-called “smart homes” defined as a regular home place equipped with smart phone related technologies. Smart homes enable the inhabitants to control household devices like turning on/off the lights, the fans, air conditioning, and T.V. or opening and closing doors and windows as well as monitoring smart phones. Knowing that a significant progress has been made on regular users for smart homes, it is highlighted that less attention is focused on those with special needs, with mobility issues or quadriplegia; novel inventions have been developed to address such mobility issues. The recent advancement of this new technology opens a plethora of possibilities for patients to use their brain waves to control artificial prosthetic arms and legs. The present paper is an overview of state-of-the-art studies that incorporate BCI in medical applications such as operating a robotic arm, smart home, and smart phones. These studies enhanced our understanding of the different uses of BCI. However, the majority of the studies had a small number of participants which limits the generalization of their findings. Second, the application of BCI in the majority of studies is still a prototype. This paper recommends increasing the number of participants in future studies and apply BCI technologies on real life situations.