Artistic brain-computer interfaces: the expression and stimulation of the user’s affective state

Abstract

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is rapidly transitioning to STEAM, which is the integration of the arts and design into the sciences. This transition is due to the need of adapting creativity in the sciences and engineering fields. This demonstrates the growing importance of the arts contribution towards the sciences in various ways. An area where art shows promise is in brain-computer interfaces. In this paper, we propose a definition for artistic brain-computer interfaces (artistic BCI) from a passive BCI perspective. We defined its composition in four fields: human-computer interaction, neurophysiology, art, and computing. This definition is based on the user’s state stimulation and expression and how art could help us and the end user understand the user’s affective state. We also discuss its applicability towards different areas and how these areas can benefit from artistic BCI.

Keywords:

• artistic brain-computer interfaces
• artistic BCI
• affective BCI
• human-computer interaction
• user experience

Acknowledgements

This material is based in part upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number DGE-1315138 & DUE-1060545. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.