Brilio.net/en - The University of Florida hosted the first mind-controlled drone race on April 16th. Thanks to a series of sensors placed on their heads, the pilots were able to control the drone only using their mind. No more need of joysticks or to move of their chairs, the participants were not moving at all, very focused on their goal: to be the first to cross the finish line.
A very impressive and futuristic competition according to the website Motherboard which was invited to report on the event. The race works by fitting pilots with a Brain Computer Interface device, which sits on users heads and measures electrical signals from the brain. Users think forward, to move the drone forward, and think right or left to move it from side to side. As simple as that and pretty scary actually!
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Juan Gilbert, professor of computer science at the University of Florida where the competition took place, explains: Were starting a new trend in society; there will be future brain drone competitions [] We are starting with a simple little race right nowwho knows where this will go?"
This race is the proof of the spectacular progress of science over the last years regarding the cerebral waves. Where this technology could take us to? It could be useful in all aspects of daily life and could solve many current global problems. On the other hand, it could also very easily become out of control and dangerous if not properly regulated.
For now, the industry that shows the most interest in this brain-reading technologies is the videogames. But we can already imagine that soon enough, it will be used on many other devices and become an integral part of our daily lives. The consequences on the human brain havent been clearly identified yet, and thats probably going to be one of the biggest challenge to come in the next years.
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Source: motherboard.vice.com