Page 14 - IAV Digital Magazine #442

Nissan W orking On Mind-reading Cars
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
By Peter Valdes-Dapena
Lots of compa- nies are working on cars that drive them- selves using computers. Nissan engi- neers are work- ing to put your brain back into the process but without, neces- sarily, involving your hands and feet.
They're researching technology that uses brainwave- sensors to detect what a driver intends to do in the next fraction of a second or, in a self-driving car, what he expects the car to do.
In a human-driv- en car, the so- called brain-to-
vehicle technol- ogy could short- en reaction times. Sensors could detect, for example, the driver's intention to slam on the brakes. The brakes could then be applied immediately, even before the driver's foot has touched the brake pedal.
Researchers are also looking at brain waves when the car does something the driver did not expect. That information could be used to make autonomously- driving cars less unnerving for occupants by having the car behave, as much as possi-
ble, the way the driver would.
The technology could also be used to adjust things like the car's internal temperature and seat positions to automatically make occupants more comfort- able.
Research sub- jects wear hel-
met-like devices that detect brain wave activity. By reading brain activity, cars can take actions -- like turning the steering wheel or braking -- up to half a second sooner than the driver could do it on his or her own.
Nissan hopes to have some ver-
sion of this technology ready for real- world use in five to 10 years, Nissan spokesman Nicholas Maxfield said. Before that can happen, though, both the sensor device -- cur- rently a wire- strewn cap -- and brainwave interpretation software need to be improved,
he said.
Nissan, part of the Renault- Nissan- Mitsubishi Alliance, has been among the most aggressive automakers in pursuing electric and autonomous cars.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine