Las Vegas, Nevada - Making (brain) waves on the Nissan stand at the Consumer Electronics Show is what it claims is the world’s first brain-to-vehicle connectivity technology, enabling vehicles to interpret signals from the driver’s brain and redefining how people interact with their cars.
No, this is not science fiction: a special headset worn by the driver reads your brainwaves, analyses what you think you’re going to do and then subtly, almost imperceptibly helps you do it - and stores the information to help it learn from you how you like to drive.
According to Nissan executive vice-president Daniele Schillaci, the technology promises shorter reaction times and systems that adapt to maximise driving pleasure. By anticipating intended movement, the system can take actions, such as turning the steering wheel or slowing the car, 0.2-0.5 seconds faster than the driver, while remaining largely imperceptible.
B2V reads your brainwaves, analyses what you think you’re going to do and helps you do it.
“When most people think about autonomous driving,” he said, “they have a very impersonal vision of the future, where humans relinquish control to the machines.
“B2V technology does the opposite, by using signals from their own brain to make the drive more enjoyable.”
Relaxing environment
On the other hand, said senior innovation researcher Dr Lucian Gheorghe, who’s leading the B2V project, when the car is driving itself, the system can detect driver discomfort and change its driving style or the car’s set-up accordingly.
It can adjust the car’s internal environment, or even use augmented reality to adjust what the driver sees and create a more relaxing environment.
“The potential applications of the technology are incredible,” Gheorghe said.