China’s first mind-controlled car has been developed by researchers in the northeast port city of Tianjin.
Chinese researchers have developed what they say is the country’s first car that uses nothing but brain power to drive.
The research team from Nankai University in the northeastern Chinese port city of Tianjin has spent two years bringing the mind-controlled vehicle to reality, Reuters reported.
By wearing brain signal-reading equipment a driver can control the car to go forward, backwards, come to a stop and both lock and unlock the vehicle, all without moving their hands or feet.
Researcher Zhang Zhao told Reuters the equipment comprises 16 sensors that capture EEG (electroencephalogram) signals from the driver’s brain. They developed a computer program that selects the relevant signals and translates them, enabling control of the car.
“The tester’s EEG signals are picked up by this (brain signal-reading) equipment and transmitted wirelessly to the computer. The computer processes the signals to categorize and recognize people’s intention, then translates them into control command to the car. The core of the whole flow is to process the EEG signals, which is done on the computer,” said Zhang.
Associate Professor Duan Feng from the university’s College of Computer and Control Engineering led the project. He emphasized that the technology is aimed at better serving human beings, and that it might soon be possible to combine brain controlled technology and driverless cars, such as the Google Self-Driving Car.
