The Car Controlled by Brain Waves

The first car controlled by brain waves has been produced by researchers in the city of Tianjin, China. According to Reuters, Chinese researchers have succeeded in creating the country's first car that is solely controlled by brain waves. These researchers, from Nankai University in the port city of Tianjin in northeastern China, spent two years realizing this idea. By placing brain signal-reading equipment on the head, the driver can control the car to move forward and backward, stop, lock, and unlock it without moving their hands or feet. One of the researchers, named Zhang Zhao, states that this equipment includes sixteen sensors that receive electroencephalography signals from the driver's brain. They have developed a computer program that selects and translates the relevant signals, thereby controlling the car. Zhang Zhao adds, 'The electroencephalography signals are selected by this equipment and sent wirelessly to the computer. The computer analyzes these signals to determine the individual's intention. It then translates them into commands to control the car. The main goal of this process is the analysis of electroencephalography signals performed by the computer.' Dwan Feng, an assistant professor at the university's School of Control Engineering and Computer Science, leads the research team. He emphasizes that the goal of this technology is to serve humanity and that this technology may soon be combined with driverless cars, such as Google's vehicle: 'As a better understanding of brain control functions is possible with the help of driverless cars, further development of these vehicles will be beneficial. After all, cars, whether driverless or with drivers, are meant to serve people. Therefore, people's needs must be identified. The goal of our project is to better serve humanity.' According to him, the brain-device interface technology could have remarkable effects in the future. For example, it could alert a driver who is drowsy behind the wheel or assist a driver who has lost their balance in braking. Researchers say the initial idea for this work was to help disabled individuals operate vehicles. Zhang states, 'There are two starting points in this project. One is a method of driving without using hands or feet for disabled individuals, and the other is a new and more rational driving method for healthy individuals.' Currently, this car can only move in a straight line, and there are no plans for mass production.