Recently, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) jointly published the international standard Information technology — Brain–Computer Interfaces — Reference architecture. The project was proposed by China. Chinese experts served as project editors, and developed it in collaboration with experts from Italy, Republic of Korea, United Kingdom, India, United States, Japan, Sweden, Finland, Australia, Germany and other countries. This publication represents an important achievement of China in international standardization in brain-computer interfaces (BCIs).

As BCI technology gradually moves from research exploration toward practical applications in areas such as healthcare, consumer health, industrial production and transportation safety, a unified reference architecture is increasingly important for promoting technological collaboration and the standardized development of the industry. The standard focuses on four fundamental questions: what a BCI is, how it is used, what functions it provides, and how it is implemented. It outlines typical implementation patterns and establishes a technical framework covering concepts, applications, functions and implementation. It helps address differences among BCI technologies and application scenarios in system composition, functional organization and implementation approaches.

The publication of the standard will help build a common understanding among global stakeholders of BCI system composition, functional boundaries and typical implementation approaches. It will also provide a unified technical reference for BCI product development, system design, and the future development of related standards on data, interfaces, testing and applications, further consolidating the standards foundation for the scaled and standardized development of brain-computer interfaces.