Paper Reading #26: Embodiment in brain-computer interaction

References 
Embodiment in brain-computer interaction by Kenton O’Hara, Abigail Sellen, Richard Harper.  
Author Bios

• Kenton O’Hara is a Senior Researcher at Microsoft Research and works in the Socio Digital Systems Group.
• Abigail Sellen is a Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research and holds a PhD from The University of California, San Diego
• Richard Harper is a Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research and holds a PhD from Manchester.

Summary

• Hypothesis
• There is a need to better understand the potential for brain-computer interaction, and the authors assert that the study of the whole body interaction is important rather than just the brain.
• Methods 
• The study made use of the MindFlex game, a device that uses EEC technology to measure electrical signals in the brain.  As brain activity increases the fan blows more strongly, and similarly as brain activity decreases, so does the fan.  The participants took the game home for a week to play in a relaxed setting and asked to record their gameplay.  The videos were analyzed by the researchers and focused on the physical manifestation of behavior around the game, looking at bodily action, gestures, and utterances.   The aim was to describe the embodied nature of the interactions and collaborations and how they were coordinated.
• Results
• Body position was found to play a large role in game play, with participants orienting themselves based on the task they were attempting.  For example, when concentrating harder, they might scrunch their face or clench their fists.  Then, when not concentrating as hard, the gestures relaxed.  The researchers also noticed the addition of narratives that arose when giving instruction between players, which was more than the game required.  And finally, they noticed a certain level of "performance" that went along with the activity.
• Contents
• This paper begins by describing the need for better understanding of how the entire body works to support the brain's goals.  It then describes an experiment in which participants are asked to behave naturally while interacting with the 'mind-reading' technology, and their actions and gestures are closely analyzed.  The researchers found several behavioral patterns that were consistent between players.

Discussion
As a sci fi/fantasy fiction enthusiast, this sort of technology is particularly appealing to me because of its using technology to mimic mystical or unexplainable powers.   I had the opportunity to play a mindflex game once on campus during a fair, and I found it very intuitive.  To be honest, I would have been a terrible subject for this experiment because I didn't have any kind of 'flair' in my behavior.  I think the authors did a very good job, however, and look forward to seeing more of this technology.