The most sought-after feature in the car of the future may not be a rear-facing camera or audio system. It may be the ability to read the driver’s thoughts. That’s the idea behind a project currently underway between Nissan and the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne in Switzerland.
The idea is for the car to combine brain scans, eye movements, and information about the surrounding conditions acquired from its own sensors, apply statistical analysis, and come up with accurate predictions of what the driver is about to do. And then–taking the basic concept behind Google Instant Pages or Amazon Silk to a whole new level–begin making changes based on the driver’s intentions.
“It should be possible to predict what the driver plans to do–be it a turn, an overtake, a lane change–and then assist with the maneuver in complete safety, thus improving the driving experience,” according to a statement by Nissan. Maybe making it safer too. In a related experiment, researchers at Berlin Institute of Technology used similar technology to help drivers stop a car with their thoughts as well as the brakes. In a simulator, that helped them stop more than 1/10 of a second faster than with brakes alone.
Read more at CNET.
