Align and pool for EEG headset domain adaptation (ALPHA) to facilitate dry electrode based SSVEP-BCI.

OBJECTIVE: The steady-state visual evoked potential based brain-computer interface (SSVEP-BCI) implemented in dry electrodes is a promising paradigm for alternative and augmentative communication in real-world applications. To improve its performance and reduce the calibration effort for dry-electrode systems, we utilize cross-device transfer learning by exploiting auxiliary individual wet-electrode electroencephalogram (EEG).

METHODS: We proposed a novel transfer learning framework named ALign and Pool for EEG Headset domain Adaptation (ALPHA), which aligns the spatial pattern and the covariance for domain adaptation. To evaluate its efficacy, 75 subjects performed an experiment of 2 sessions involving a 12-target SSVEP-BCI task.

RESULTS: ALPHA significantly outperformed a baseline approach (canonical correlation analysis, CCA) and two competing transfer learning approaches (transfer template CCA, ttCCA and least square transformation, LST) in two transferring directions. When transferring from wet to dry EEG headsets, ALPHA significantly outperformed the fully calibrated approach of task-related component analysis (TRCA).

CONCLUSION: ALPHA advances the frontier of recalibration-free cross-device transfer learning for SSVEP-BCIs and boosts the performance of dry electrode based systems.

SIGNIFICANCE: ALPHA has methodological and practical implications and pushes the boundary of dry electrode based SSVEP-BCI toward real-world applications.