SpotlessMind

Abstract

Mutual understanding via sharing and interpreting inner states is socially rewarding. Prior research shows that people find Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) a suitable tool to implicitly communicate their cognitive states. In this paper, we conduct an online survey (N=43) to identify design parameters for systems that implicitly share cognitive states. We achieve this by designing a research probe called "SpotlessMind" to artistically share brain occupancy with another while considering the bystanders' experience to elicit user responses. Our results show that 98% would like to see the installation. People would use it as a gesture of openness and as a communication mediator. Abstracting visual, auditory, and somatosensory depictions is a good trade-off between understandability and users' privacy protection. Our work supports designing engaging prototypes that promote empathy, cognitive awareness and convergence between individuals.

Authors 7

1. Passant Elagroudy

   University of Stuttgart

   Affiliation as printed

   University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany

2. Xiyue Wang

   Tohoku University

   Affiliation as printed

   Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan

3. Evgeny Stemasov

   Universität Ulm

   Affiliation as printed

   University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany

4. Teresa Hirzle

   Universität Ulm

   Affiliation as printed

   University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany

5. Svetlana Shishkovets Aachen

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

6. Siddharth Mehrotra Aachen

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

7. Albrecht Schmidt

   Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

   Affiliation as printed

   LMU Munich, Munich, Germany