Method and apparatus for measuring and analyzing physiological signals for active or passive control of physical and virtual spaces and the contents therein

Abstract

A method and apparatus are disclosed for measuring and performing real-time FFT analysis of bioelectrical signals such as (EEG and EMG) for the control of systems. Passive and active interaction with various electronic media such as video games, movies, music, virtual reality, and computer animations is also disclosed. A method and apparatus for detecting the presence of a subject in a controlled area and for controlling real or virtual spaces is also disclosed.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A control system comprising: 
 at least one presence detector for detecting whether a predetermined relationship with at least one controlled space is satisfied;    at least one device having a predetermined association with said controlled space;    at least one sensor for picking up bio-signals from a subject; and    a controller having an first input connected to said presence detector, a second input connected to said sensor, and an output for issuing one or more commands for controlling said device;    said controller comprising a gate responsive to signals from said presence detector, said gate being in an open state responsive to said predetermined relationship being satisfied;    said controller further comprising a FFT processor and a command map for converting said bio-signals into said commands;    said controller being operative during said open state to issue said commands to said device.    
     
     
         2 . The control system of    claim 1    wherein: 
 said FFT processor comprises a general purpose CPU and a control program.  
 
     
     
         3 . The control system of    claim 1    wherein: 
 said presence detector comprises an algorithm for comparing the position of an object within a virtual space with said at least one controlled space.  
 
     
     
         4 . The control system of    claim 3    wherein: 
 said at least one controlled space comprises at least one virtual space; and  
 said at least one device comprises at least one virtual object.  
 
     
     
         5 . The control system of    claim 1    further comprising: 
 an analog to digital converter having an input connected to said sensor and an output for providing digital samples representative of said bio-signals;  
 said controller being operative during said open state to receive one or more epochs of said digital samples, said epochs comprising a predetermined number of said digital samples;  
 said FFT processor being operative during said open state to perform fourier transforms on said epochs and generate one or more control parameters;  
 said controller operative during said open state to compare preselected ones of said control parameters with said command map to issue said commands.  
 
     
     
         6 . The control system of    claim 5    wherein said control parameters comprise one or more of the following: 
 (a) the frequency of a spectral peak;  
 (b) the amplitude of a spectral peak;  
 (c) the frequency of a spectral peak after filtering;  
 (d) the amplitude of a spectral peak after filtering; and  
 (e) the value of (a) through (d) after scaling.  
 
     
     
         7 . The control system of    claim 1    wherein said predetermined relationship comprises a spatial relationship between said subject and said controlled space.  
     
     
         8 . A control system comprising: 
 at least one controlled device;    at least one sensor for picking up bio-signals from a subject; and    a controller having an input connected to said sensor, an FFT processor for converting said bio-signals into one or more control parameters, a selector having at least one device selection map, a command processor having at least one command map, and an output for sending one or more device commands to said device;    said selector being responsive to at least one of said control parameters to generate a device selection parameter;    said command processor being selectively responsive to said device selection parameter and to at least one of said control parameters to generate said device commands for controlling said device.    
     
     
         9 . The control system of    claim 8    further comprising: 
 an indicator having a predetermined association with said device for providing signals observable by said subject.  
 
     
     
         10 . The control system of    claim 8    wherein: 
 said controller further comprises an indicator output connected to said indicator; and  
 said controller generates an indicator output signal responsive to said device selection parameter.  
 
     
     
         11 . A control system comprising: 
 a plurality of appliances;    a first sensor for picking up bio-signals from a first subject;    a second sensor for picking up bio-signals from a second subject; and    a controller having a first input connected to said first sensor, a second input connected to said second sensor, an FFT processor for converting said bio-signals into one or more control parameters, a router, a command processor, and an output for sending one or more commands to said appliances;    said FFT processor performs FFT calculations on said bio-signals and generates one or more control parameters;    said router responsive to at least one of said control parameters to generate an appliance pointer for a selected one or more of said plurality of appliances;    said command processor being responsive to said appliance pointer to choose a selected command map having a predetermined relationship with said selected one or more of said plurality of appliances and further responsive to at least one of said control parameters to generate said commands using said selected command map for controlling said selected one or more of said plurality of appliances.    
     
     
         12 . A controller apparatus comprising: 
 an input for receiving relationship signals;    a selector responsive to said relationship signals for selecting a subject;    a control processor connected to said selector, having an input for receiving bio-signals from said selected subject, and having an output for providing control signals to one or more objects;    said control processor being operative to perform fourier transform calculations on said bio-signals and mapping one or more results of said calculations to control signals.    
     
     
         13 . The control apparatus of    claim 12    wherein: 
 said item comprises said one or more objects; and  
 said predetermined relationship comprises a spacial relationship between said selected subject and said item.  
 
     
     
         14 . A control method comprising the steps of: 
 evaluating one or more predetermined relationships;    sensing bio-signals from a selected subject;    converting said bio-signals into one or more frequency domain control parameters;    comparing one or more of said control parameters to a preselected control map; and    generating one or more commands to control one or more aspects of an item.    
     
     
         15 . The method of    claim 14    further wherein: 
 said predetermined relationships comprise the relationship between said selected subject and said item; and  
 said item comprises one or more of an appliance, an electronic device, and a parameter or an object in a virtual environment.  
 
     
     
         16 . The method of    claim 15    wherein said relationship comprises observation by said selected subject of said item.  
     
     
         17 . The method of    claim 15    wherein the step of evaluating further comprises: 
 providing an indicator observable by said selected subject; and  
 detecting whether said selected subject is observing said indicator.