'Mind pilots' steer plane sim with thoughts alone

[Jesus Malverde]

Source: CNET

Thanks to her kick-butt skill of telekinesis (my secret superhero power wish), longtime X-Men alum Jean Grey can move things with her mind. And she's not the only one.

New research out of the Technische Universität München (TUM) in Germany is hinting that mind control might soon reach entirely new heights -- even by us non-mutants. They've demonstrated that pilots might be able to fly planes through the sky using their thoughts alone.

The researchers hooked study participants to a cap containing dozens of electroencephalography (EEG) electrodes, sat them down in a flight simulator, and told them to steer the plane through the sim using their thoughts alone. The cap read the electrical signals from their brains and an algorithm then translated those signals into computer commands.

Seven people underwent the experiment and, according to the researchers, all were able to pilot the plane using their thoughts to such a degree that their performance could have satisfied some of the criteria for getting a pilot's license.


Read more: http://www.cnet.com/news/mind-pilots-steer-a-plane-with-thoughts-alone/

[Xipe Totec]

1. Glad to hear we've moved beyond staring at goats. nt

[awoke_in_2003]

3. That was a great flick. nt

[Fuddnik]

4. The book was even better.

My old martial arts instructor was the guy who convinced the Pentagon brass he could teach them to walk through walls, and kill things with his mind.

He was a real wacko.

[Javaman]

8. Yes it was. did you read Ronson's other book, "Them"?

also excellent.

[Marrah_G]

15. hehehe

[awoke_in_2003]

2. Men think about sex almost all the time...

this cannot end well Seriously, very cool.

[Theyletmeeatcake2]

11. Hahaha!!!

[AdHocSolver]

5. This experiment sounds like a total fraud.

My reason for saying this is found in this statement:

"The cap read the electrical signals from their brains and an algorithm then translated those signals into computer commands."

A quote from the article raises more doubts:

"What's more, the study participants weren't all pilots and had varying levels of flight experience. One had no cockpit experience at all."

Remember the voting machines that gave votes for Democrats to their Republican opponents?

[Codeine]

6. Shades of Firefox.

Not a good film, btw -- did not age well at all.

[Helen Borg]

7. Hyped bs...

Wow, they tested SEVEN people! Look, by reading EEG at the scalp you cannot do much, and even less if you want to do it in real time! The suggestion that one day a paralysed person may pilot her own plane just by using her brain is preposterous. These signals fluctuate a lot, in ways that we do not understand yet. Certainly, they could not be used for something as critical as piloting a plane.

[KamaAina]

12. I'd settle for driving her own power chair

[penultimate]

17. So you think researching this is a waste of time and shouldn't explored more because we will never

understand enough about our brains to make such technologies?

[Helen Borg]

19. What I think is a waste of time and dangerous...

Is hyping technology that does not exist, probably to get military contracts (who knows)...

[Javaman]

9. In other news:

Mind pilot loses train of thought, crashes plane into strip club.

[Duppers]

13. ...

[MindPilot]

14. Hey!

I did not objectify those women!!

[CanSocDem]

10. No surprise here.

The technology has been used in prosthetic development for some time now. In the 70's Russian scientists filmed a woman using her 'mind' to move objects under glass.

In an industrialized society, there is a lot of money invested in the promotion of the helpless and powerless human individual. It is what the society needs to succeed. It is their parade.

The sooner people realize their own personal power, the sooner they will be freed from the tyranny of the industrial ruling class.

[Kaleva]

18. What happens if the pilot gets side tracked by thinking about sex?

[Tommy_Carcetti]

20. Then he ends up flying to his ex girlfriend's house. nt