Drone racing is quickly becoming a new sport. But imagine if you didn't need a remote control to actually fly the drone. The University of Florida has held the first-ever, brain-powered drone race.
Drone racing is becoming more popular as drone technology improves. In fact, there's a Drone Racing League (DRL) that tests a person's ability to race a high-powered drone through obstacle courses while using virtual reality headset in combination with a remote control to pilot the drone when it's out of the person's line of sight.
In this case, the drivers used brain-computer interface (BCI) technology. This technology has been around for a while, but it's still being tested. As you can see from the University of Florida's video, the drones are piloted relatively slowly as the drivers concentrate with the use of headsets on their forehead.
The drones were flown down a 10-yard course. And while normal drone races involve the drones zipping around fairly quickly, the drones in the brain-controlled race moved far more slowly. With that said, the drones are controlled with the human brain, which means that they can be given some slack.
The tech that the 16 pilots used involved the use of electroencephalogram headsets. These headsets are calibrated to each wearer's brain ahead of time. For example, the headsets "see" what is activated when a person thinks about pushing something forward. Once the headsets are calibrated, it interacts with the forward stick on the drone's controller so that when a person thinks "forward" the drone actually moves forward.
This technology is still being tested. However, it has major applications for the future, especially when it comes to prosthetics that are controlled by a person's mind. In theory, electroencephalogram (EEG) headsets could also give paralyzed people more autonomy by allowing them to control machines with their brains. With that said, these drones are still a long way from being able to compete in regular drone races due to how slowly they move. As the technology improves, though, it's possible that we may see more brain-controlled drone races.
If you want to see the race for yourself, you can check out the video below, courtesy of the University of Florida.
