Overview
ISO/IEC 8663:2025 - Information technology - Brain‑computer interfaces - Vocabulary defines the accepted terms and definitions used across the brain–computer interface (BCI) domain. This first edition provides a standardized vocabulary for basic concepts and BCI classifications, system components and modalities, experiment setups and protocols, neuroscience concepts (e.g. coding/decoding, feedback, stimulation), signal processing, and application areas. The standard promotes clear communication among researchers, manufacturers, clinicians, regulators and end users working with invasive, non‑invasive and hybrid BCI technologies.
Key topics and requirements
ISO/IEC 8663:2025 is a vocabulary standard, so its principal requirement is consistent terminology. Key technical topics covered include:
- Basic BCI types and modes: active, passive, reactive; synchronous vs asynchronous; unidirectional vs bidirectional; independent vs dependent; multi‑user, collaborative and competitive BCIs; wearable and speech BCIs.
- System components: transducer, sensor, electrode, effector, channel - definitions that apply to EEG, fNIRS, MEG, intracortical electrodes and related hardware.
- Modalities and invasiveness: invasive, partially‑invasive (semi‑invasive), non‑invasive classifications.
- Experimental design and protocols: standardized language for experiment setups, paradigms and task timing to improve reproducibility.
- Feedback and stimulation: terms describing encoding/decoding, feedback loops and stimulation modalities used in bidirectional systems.
- Signal processing and analysis: standardized vocabulary for preprocessing, feature extraction, classification/decoding and evaluation metrics.
- Applications: medical, assistive technologies, neuroprosthetics, gaming, neuroergonomics, education, neuromarketing and research contexts.
Note: ISO/IEC 8663:2025 contains definitions and classifications rather than technical measurement limits or performance specifications. For authoritative, implementable requirements consult related technical standards and regulatory guidance.
Applications and who uses this standard
ISO/IEC 8663:2025 is useful for:
- Researchers and academics - ensuring consistent terminology in publications and collaborative projects.
- Device manufacturers and system integrators - aligning product documentation, interface definitions and interoperability.
- Clinical teams and trial designers - harmonizing protocol language for neurotechnology studies and regulatory submissions.
- Standards developers and regulators - creating or assessing normative documents and conformity frameworks.
- Educators and technical communicators - teaching BCI concepts using standardized vocabulary.
Adopting the vocabulary improves reproducibility, cross‑disciplinary understanding and interoperability in the fast‑growing BCI ecosystem.
Related resources
- ISO/IEC JTC 1 Subcommittee on Brain–computer interfaces (SC 43) publications.
- IEC Electropedia and ISO Online Browsing Platform for terminology lookup and translations.
For full, authoritative definitions and the complete entry list, obtain the official ISO/IEC 8663:2025 publication.