Evolutionary design of a brain-computer interface

Abstract

This paper shows how Evolutionary Algorithm (EA) robustness help to solve a difficult problem with a minimal expert knowledge about it. The problem consist in the design of a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI), which allows a person to communicate without using nerves and muscles. Input electroencephalographic (EEG) activity recorded from the scalp must be translated into outputs that control external devices. Our BCI is based in a Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) trained by an EA. This kind of training avoids the main problem of MLPs training algorithms: overfitting. Experimental results produce MLPs with a classification ability better than those in the literature. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.