On Wednesday, for the first time, an indigenously-developed mind-controlled car that would do away the use of accelerator or steering wheel was unveiled in China. The new vehicle has been developed by a research team from Nankai University in Tianjin in association with Chinese car maker, Great Wall Motor. According to the state-run Xinhua news agency, the car is controlled via a headset with 16 sensors that transmits impulses from the user’s brain to the car’s processing system. The vehicle moved forward and backward; and was locked and unlocked that was all done through the power of the mind, as audiences watched. The brain signals are recorded by the sensors and then the recognition system examines them before converting them into driving instructions and sending them to the car. This is the first time Chinese researchers have controlled a car in this way claim the team that has designed the vehicle. However, there was still some way to go before the technology can be put into production said Duan Feng, Associate Professor at the University’s Computing and Control Engineering Department. He said “The technology is quite mature, however, there is some room for improvement concerning the car’s electronics, which will make the vehicle more secure, intelligent, and user-friendly.” In addition, he said that the technology could change driving and assist disabled people in driving.
