Enhancing Drone Pilots’ Engagement Through a Brain-Computer Interface

Abstract

Drones are becoming ubiquitous in society, and as their use continues to grow, it becomes important to research new approaches to provide a better user experience and safer flights. In this paper, we propose the use of brain-computer interfaces (BCI) to measure the drone pilot’s engagement from the brain while piloting drones. We hypothesize that relaying on a quantified measurement, the pilot will be encouraged to increase their focus, leading to higher engagement and possible safer flights. Our first contribution is a technical description of the system, which allows the pilots to control a virtual first-person view (FPV) drone while receiving feedback on their engagement level measured with a BCI. Secondly, we present the results of a user study with 10 participants, in which their feedback stated that receiving engagement level feedback increased their engagement as they tried to raise their focus in the activity.