Direct mind links will shave milliseconds off jet fighter control

Australia will soon have direct mind to machine interfaces that require minimal surgery working in humans.

Beyond usefulness in medicine, the ability for a device to transmit electrical signals from the motor system could change everything.

One possible use is vehicle control. Plugging the brain directly into a vehicle effectively removes the time delay and human error involved in using the muscles and bones required to control a joystick.

“The military appear interested in the potential for jet fighters to control their planes with direct thought control, rather than using their arms. The reaction time you’d shave off would be milliseconds,” Dr Oxley says.

“Pilots are in a very complex environment when flying planes. Having this device could reduce their cognitive load while they’re flying, therefore making it simpler for them and less stressful,” she says.

This is a prime example of ‘dual use technology’, a military term for technology that has a military use, as well as civilian and medicinal use.

Thought-controlled jet fighters are a potential future application for thought-controlled technologies. Picture: Flickr

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SOURCES- University of Melbourne, Nature Biotechnology