A user may interact with a computing device for example using a keyboard, mouse, track pad, touch screen, or motion-capture devices. As the ways in which humans interact with computing devices change, computers may become usable for new purposes, or more efficient in performing existing tasks. A user command to a computing device that may require several commands on a keyboard may be instead associated with a single hand gesture captured and processed by a motion-capture input device. As the human body has many parts which may be controlled through voluntary movement, there are opportunities for capturing and interpreting other movements for interacting with a computing device.
Bio-signals are signals that are generated by biological beings that can be measured and monitored. Electroencephalographs, galvanometers, and electrocardiographs are examples of devices that are used to measure and monitor bio-signals generated by humans.
A human brain generates bio-signals such as electrical patterns, which may be measured/monitored using an electroencephalogram (“EEG”). These electrical patterns, or brainwaves, are measurable by devices such as an EEG. Typically, an EEG will measure brainwaves in an analog form. Then, these brainwaves may be analyzed either in their original analog form or in a digital form after an analog to digital conversion.
Measuring and analyzing bio-signals such as brainwave patterns can have a variety of practical applications. For example, brain computer interfaces (“BCI”) allow users to control devices and computers using brainwave signals.