Spiking Neural Networks for Mental Workload Classification with a Multimodal Approach
This work addresses the need for low-power, real-time mental workload classification in fields like cognitive neuroscience and human-computer interaction, though it is incremental as it builds on existing SNN and multimodal approaches.
This study tackled the problem of accurately assessing mental workload for real-time monitoring by comparing hardware-compatible spiking neural networks (SNNs) with traditional machine learning models using a multimodal dataset, finding that multimodal integration improves accuracy and SNNs perform comparably to ML models, demonstrating potential for low-power, fast applications.
Accurately assessing mental workload is crucial in cognitive neuroscience, human-computer interaction, and real-time monitoring, as cognitive load fluctuations affect performance and decision-making. While Electroencephalography (EEG) based machine learning (ML) models can be used to this end, their high computational cost hinders embedded real-time applications. Hardware implementations of spiking neural networks (SNNs) offer a promising alternative for low-power, fast, event-driven processing. This study compares hardware compatible SNN models with various traditional ML ones, using an open-source multimodal dataset. Our results show that multimodal integration improves accuracy, with SNN performance comparable to the ML one, demonstrating their potential for real-time implementations of cognitive load detection. These findings position event-based processing as a promising solution for low-latency, energy efficient workload monitoring in adaptive closed-loop embedded devices that dynamically regulate cognitive load.