Turning a Tesla Into a Brain-Controlled Vehicle
The driver mentally commands the car to accelerate or brake. True, the autopilot is a joy and wonder to marvel, but what about those who still love driving? Good new, soon enough it will be possible to drive with your mind.
The driver mentally commands the car to accelerate or brake. True, the autopilot is a joy and wonder to marvel, but what about those who still love driving? Good new, soon enough it will be possible to drive with your mind.
All thanks to a group of university students who have managed to modify a Tesla; it’s now possible to drive using the mind. No physical fights with pedals. Developed for the Cal Hacks Competition at UC Berkeley, the program uses an EEG (electroencephalogram) headset. The EEG measured the driver’s brain electrical activity as his thoughts prompted the Model S to move or stop.
The system corresponds with the driver’s thoughts. Tapping the right foot means ‘Go”, clenching the left-hand means ‘Stop.’ The commands work synchronously with a linear actuator which carries out the commands by either applying/removing force on the accelerator/brake pedals. The invention is called the Teslapathic.
The Teslapathic is one example of Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs). The assistant professor of neuroscience at Exeter University, Jacob Jolii notes that; moving a right limb corresponds with the left brain and vice versa. The EEG headset picks this up and a computer correctly converts these commands into action. The only limit is on increasing the speed. The 99% accuracy level is not safe to depend on when driving. However, these cars are still in the labs and should not be expected in the market anytime soon.
GM announced that a Facial recognition software is being introduced to detect when the driver is sleepy. As it is, it is not yet certain that mind driving will be feasible or if it’s safer than Tesla’s fully autonomous driving which will be released in 2017. Although the Teslapathic had strong competition, it finished the competition in 3rd place. Mind cars are still a way to go, so for now, enjoy driving the normal way!
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Owen Castellanos
Owen Castellanos is the Hardware & Gaming Reporter at TrendinTech, where he tests graphics cards, processors, consoles and peripherals and follows the games industry, from the major publishers to independent studios. He previously wrote reviews and benchmarks for Tom's Hardware and contributed features to PC Gamer, covering everything from laptop testing to the economics of game development. Owen holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and attends CES in Las Vegas, Computex in Taipei and the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco each year to meet chipmakers and developers. He writes for readers who want to know whether a product is worth the money, and he is not shy about saying when it is not.
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