Electrode cap enables drones to be controlled by brain signals

Arizona State University is developing technology enabling a human brain to control drones. Using advanced algorithms, a 128-electrode skin-tight cap detects brain signals which are then communicated to the robots. In 2014, the lab was given $860,000 from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the US Air Force to develop the technology. Within 10 to 20 years, one person may be able to control 20 drones using the system.

A new age of warfare is near — and it’s a situation of mind over matter.

Panagiotis Artemiadis, the director of the Human-Oriented Robotics and Control Lab at Arizona State University, is developing technology that allows a person to control multiple drones using wavelengths generated by the person’s brain.

“I have been working on brain control interfaces and human-robot interactions for many years now,” Artemiadis, who’s also an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, told The Post.

His previous research focused on the mind control of a single machine, such as a robotic prosthetic hand or arm.

“About two years ago, I thought of doing the next step: many robots,” he said.

A Ph.D. student wearing a skin-tight cap hooked up to 128 electrodes demonstrated the technology in a video uploaded by ASU.

“We’re using advanced algorithms to decipher what the person is thinking,” the student says. Those signals are then communicated to the robots.

In 2014, the lab was awarded $860,000 from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the US Air Force in order to build the mind-bending technology.

“Ten or 20 years from now, instead of having big expensive aircraft or drones, you can have hundreds or thousands of inexpensive ones you deploy in an area,” Artemiadis told the Washington Post.

So far, an operator can only control four drones, according to the paper. But researchers hope to get one person to control as many 20 and, eventually, hundreds. Surprisingly, the operator would only need about 20 to 30 minutes’ training.

The application goes far beyond military uses. Artemiadis says the technology could service search-and-rescue missions, first aid delivery and reach inaccessible areas for surveillance.