Developing and evaluating a BCI video game for neurofeedback training: the case of autism

Abstract

BCI video games are making brain training increasingly popular and available; yet scientific evidence to support its efficacy is lacking. Real-life descriptions of BCI video games deploy- ments in concrete scenarios are urgently needed. In this paper, we report a use case of the development and pilot-testing of a BCI video game designed to support children with autism when attending to Neurofeedback training sessions, called FarmerKeeper. Caring for children with autism may impose new cognitive, motor, behavioral, and attention challenges that current solutions targeted for other populations may not address. The goal of the game is to maintain children’s attention above a threshold to control a runner who is seeking for lost farm animals. FarmerKeeper uses a consumer-grade BCI headset to read user’s attention. We evaluated FarmerKeeper’s usability and user experience through a 4-weeks deployment study with 12 children with autism. Our quantitative results show FarmerKeeper outperforms a commercial BCI video game used for neurofeedback training, and qualitatively, FarmerKeeper could successfully support children with autism when attending to neurofeedback training sessions by possibly improving their attention and reducing their anxiety. We close reflecting on our design aspects and discussing directions for future work.