Tech Alert
Without a pilot’s license, or frankly, any experience, WIRED’s Jack Stewart flew a plane using just his thoughts. Thanks to new technology developed by Honeywell Aerospace, a King Air C90 can be controlled, in simple terms, by the human brain.
Wearing a cap covered in electrodes that are glued to his scalp, Stewart flew a real plane and he does not have a pilot’s license. He practiced for a little while using a simulator, then jumped into the cockpit. The only other person who attempted this before him was the inventor of the device, Santosh Mathan. Mathan’s hope is that what he learns can be used to improve human cognitive capacity.
Using a computer screen in front of him, Stewart has to focus on giving commands through his brain, which travel through the electrodes, and therefore control the plane. Every time the pattern on the computer screen flashes, his brain flashes with pattern recognition. Then the sensors pick up on the activity in his brain. To help the computer recognize the patterns happening in his brain, Mathan suggests counting every time Stewart sees a flash.
Additionally, the pilot deliberately flies the plane toward a hill and Stewart has to attempt to make the plane go up simply using his brain. This will by no means replace the yoke and pedals anytime soon, but it was a thrilling experiment just the same. They are hoping to be able to measure pilot workload, attention and other parameters that affect pilot performance in the flight deck.
The eventual goal is to get all this technology working in an actual plane in real time. While you will not be able to ride on a thought–controlled plane any time soon, that technology is coming that will make sure your pilot is performing at peak performance. This will make flying safer for us all.
-
A big part of the street kid culture that Splatoon 3 champions is making yourself seen all over your...
-
I’ve been a member of the “Water Starters for Life” club ever since the first generation of Pokemon, so...
-
In many games in the Resident Evil series, you’re assigned a rank upon completion of the game’s story. These...
-
They say that when you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. That’s a...
-
Have you ever had the distinct impression that your bed has it in for you? Weird thing to ask,...
-
For as long as the concept of RPGs has existed, there have been random NPCs screaming their heads off...
-
There’s something kind of magical about cassette tapes, isn’t there? Yeah, they don’t have the best storage or fidelity,...
-
Did you know that, in some parts of the world, rhinoceros beetles are actually worth a decent amount of...
-
As the remakes of the Resident Evil games have come out, Capcom has been gradually refining its proprietary RE...
-
In my experience as an office worker, every single employee always maintains a couple of hiding places. After all,...
-
Maybe this is my claustrophobia talking, but I’m not big on caves. They’re dank, they’re cramped, and you are...
-
In the world of spies and espionage, there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all approach. Sure, you have your...