14 DAY TRIAL // Moving things with the power of the mind has been a long-time dream of humanity, but in the absence of a method of achieving telekinesis, we have to make do with technological aides.
One such technological aide, a headset of sorts, was employed by some students from the University of Minnesota College of Science.
A team led by Professor Bin He created a headset and a computer program that allowed a person to command a remote-controlled helicopter to fly through hoops placed around the college gymnasium.
"Our study shows that for the first time, humans are able to control the flight of flying robots using just their thoughts, sensed from noninvasive brain waves," said Professor Bin He.
"In previous work we showed that humans could control a virtual helicopter using just their thoughts. I initially intended to use a small helicopter for this real-life study; however, the quadcopter is more stable, smooth and has fewer safety concerns."
The researchers hope to develop robots or prosthetics that can help paralyzed people, or anyone suffering from neurodegenerative disorders.
Three women and two men participated in the study, each one succeeding in controlling the four-blade helicopter (quadrocopter as it were).
They didn't just make it stutter around either. The control was quite fine and lasted for an extended period.
It shows that the hardware they put together, and the software accompanying it, has a decent grasp of what human brainwaves mean.
Sure, it took a few training sessions for everything to fall into place, but that's no different from people needing some time to figure out the controls on a wireless joystick of a toy car.
Some students directed the quadrocopter through a keyboard too, to compare the standard method to the brain-controlled one. Overall, the results were promising, even if there is still a lot of development to make before any practical application can be found.