Portuguese researchers discover the secret of Mind Control Mind control is the stuff of pure science fiction, but today reading data from your brain has never been more accurate, and that opens the way to, for example, controlling machines. ” | (Sees ae vides mGuetTin tamat ace 2 081 A recent drone flight from an airfield outside Lisbon may prove to be historic. Its flight was remotely controlled by the pilot's mind. It's an impressive result delivered by a European research project to develap technology to transform the lives of disabled people “it's the first time we've done a public demonstration of a real flight, that’s completely unprecedented,” says the Tekever Brainflight project's co-ordinator Ricardo Mendes Like most drones, the unmanned plane receives radio commands from the ground. But instead of using a joystick and buttons, the pilot just thinks of the direction the plane should take “We're switching from normal control to the “brain flight”. From this moment, it will be flown by the brainwaves of the pilot,” says Mendes. The researcher at the controls focuses his attention on the screen with the parameters of the flight. It takes some mental effort to steer the drone in the required direction, keeping it within the designated area “Ideally, this shouldn't be too difficult. With more training, we'll be able to do more, and the piloting should become more intuitive,” says Nuno Loureiro, researcher at the BMI Champalimaud Foundation This technology is based on a brain-machine interface — a system that uses a set of electrodes applied to the scalp. Using specially-written software, the researchers can basically read the subject's mind So how does the brain-machine intertace actually work? “We use a cap that captures from the skin surface the electrical activity that goes on inside the brain. We take those signals and transmit them into the computer which converts them into visible cursor movements that you can see on the screen,” says the Foundation’s Rui Page 1 of 2 ee eresCosta As the pilot observes the screen, his brain learns electrical patterns that control the movements of the objects. Scientists say with more training, this can become as intuitive as driving a car: In principle, anyone can learn to do this,” continues Costa, “but it will ultimately depend on the person's learning capabilities. Nat everyone can be a pianist!” This technology has already been tried in a full-size plane simulator. Researchers suggest that in the future, brain-machine interfaces may help to simplify control panels, shorten pilots training time and one day allow paraplegic people to fly planes Besides aeronautics, we're looking to apply this technology in many different areas: you can imagine right away applying this to wheelchairs, how you control a wheelchair with your mind. Or you can use it to contral your everyday appliances at home,” suggests Ricardo Mendes From turning the lights on and off to typing emails or controlling prosthetic limbs with brain signals — all that and more can be made possible with further development of the brain-machine technology, which is still in its infancy and surely has more surprises to come Project details + Project acronym:BRAINFLIGHT {Participants:Portugal (Coordinator), Netherlands, Germany, {Project Reference N* 308014 UTotal cost: €373 687 {TEU contribution: €508 801 LDurstionsJune 2072 May 2014 Contact(s) See also Unit A1 - External & Internal communication, Futuris: http:/www.euronews.netisch-tech/futuris Directorate-General for Research & Innovation, Project information on CORDIS: European Commission hitp://eordis. europa eu/projects/ren/103624_en.html Tel: +32 2 298 45 40 View the article online © European Union, 2018 Page 2 of 2 ee