The plausibility of using unmanned aerial vehicles as a serious game for dealing with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder

Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is considered a mental disease that affects an estimated 5% of the world’s youth population. Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) such as Electroencephalograms (EEGs) and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) have been used to study and treat this mental disease. This paper shows the plausibility of using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) as a serious game for therapeutic purposes through a systematic review of the current state of UAVs and how they have been coupled to BCIs in order to control them through mental commands. Also, challenges and research opportunities from a usability approach related to the game design, interaction design, and cognitive rehabilitation are identified and described. We hope that the research opportunities identified in this paper can be useful to guide future research and gain insight into how to solve challenges related to the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in cognitive therapies.