Evaluation of mental workload and familiarity in human computer interaction with integrated development environments using single-channel EEG

With modern developments in sensing technology it has become possible to detect and classify brain activity into distinct states such as attention and relaxation using commercially available EEG devices. These devices provide a low-cost and minimally intrusive method to observe a subject's cognitive load whilst interacting with a computer system, thus providing a basis for determining the overall effectiveness of the design of a computer interface. In this paper, a single-channel dry sensor EEG headset is used to record the mental effort and familiarity data of participants whilst they repeat a task eight times in either the Visual Studio or Eclipse Integrated Development Environments (IDEs). This data is used in conjunction with observed behaviour and perceived difficulties reported by the participants to suggest that human computer interaction with IDEs can be evaluated using mental effort and familiarity data retrieved by an affordable EEG headset.