The researchers at the Honeywell Aerospace company have been working at a frantic pace over the last year or so to perfect technology they have developed that may soon allow for mind controlled aircraft. Their scientific advances seem rather unbelievable yet their research and development wants to reach further to encompass the possibility that brain technology can be developed to the point where it will make every pilot that much more smarter.
The company has been researching, and developing, for many years, a brain neural type of interface for aircraft that will allow for direct communication between a pilot’s brain and the controls of the aircraft. The company had been using simulators to test the interface and found success with 10 actual test flights over the course of last year.
The simulation required the test pilots to look at a dashboard series of flashing lights. When the pilot’s brains recognized the lights, a signal was immediately sent to the headsets they were wearing. The headset translates the light signals and immediately responds with a command that has been associated with the light.
The future of the research is considering the use of EEG sensors as well as allow a pilot to just think of a muscle movement and have it happen with regard to the control of the aircraft. The hope is to develop a brain controlled neural interface that can tell when a pilot is distracted or tired and to compensate accordingly. The researchers also want to improve the pilot’s IQ’s, which are already high, so as to make the operation of the plane as seamless between man, or woman, and machine as would be possible.
The Honeywell scientists are looking to do this through direct brain stimulation as well as intense cognitive training. They have been working on this in collaboration with Northeastern University, Harvard, and Oxford. In research done by the company with 500 gamers, they found that the combination of retraining cognitive skills and stimulation of the brain was safe and that it actually improved brain function while they were playing the video games.
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