(Press-News.org) The pilot is wearing a white cap with myriad attached cables. His gaze is concentrated on the runway ahead of him. All of a sudden the control stick starts to move, as if by magic. The airplane banks and then approaches straight on towards the runway. The position of the plane is corrected time and again until the landing gear gently touches down. During the entire maneuver the pilot touches neither pedals nor controls.
This is not a scene from a science fiction movie, but rather the rendition of a test at the Institute for Flight System Dynamics of the Technische Universität München (TUM). Scientists working for Professor Florian Holzapfel are researching ways in which brain controlled flight might work in the EU-funded project "Brainflight." "A long-term vision of the project is to make flying accessible to more people," explains aerospace engineer Tim Fricke, who heads the project at TUM. "With brain control, flying, in itself, could become easier. This would reduce the work load of pilots and thereby increase safety. In addition, pilots would have more freedom of movement to manage other manual tasks in the cockpit."
Surprising accuracy
The scientists have logged their first breakthrough: They succeeded in demonstrating that brain-controlled flight is indeed possible – with amazing precision. Seven subjects took part in the flight simulator tests. They had varying levels of flight experience, including one person without any practical cockpit experience whatsoever. The accuracy with which the test subjects stayed on course by merely thinking commands would have sufficed, in part, to fulfill the requirements of a flying license test. "One of the subjects was able to follow eight out of ten target headings with a deviation of only 10 degrees," reports Fricke. Several of the subjects also managed the landing approach under poor visibility. One test pilot even landed within only few meters of the centerline.
The TU München scientists are now focusing in particular on the question of how the requirements for the control system and flight dynamics need to be altered to accommodate the new control method. Normally, pilots feel resistance in steering and must exert significant force when the loads induced on the aircraft become too large. This feedback is missing when using brain control. The researchers are thus looking for alternative methods of feedback to signal when the envelope is pushed too hard, for example.
Electrical potentials are converted into control commands
In order for humans and machines to communicate, brain waves of the pilots are measured using electroencephalography (EEG) electrodes connected to a cap. An algorithm developed by scientists from the Department of Biological Psychology and Neuroergonomics at the Berlin Institute of Technology allows the program to decipher electrical potentials and convert them into useful control commands.
Only the very clearly defined electrical brain impulses required for control are recognized by the brain-computer interface. "This is pure signal processing," emphasizes Fricke. Mind reading is not possible.
The researchers will present their results end of September at the "Deutscher Luft- und Raumfahrtkongress."
INFORMATION: END
Using thoughts to control airplanes
TUM researchers demonstrate: Brain controlled flight is possible
2014-05-27
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Melatonin makes old bones stronger
2014-05-27
Faleh Tamimi, a professor in McGill's School of Dentistry, is the leader of a research team that has just discovered that melatonin supplements make bones stronger in elderly rats and therefore, potentially, in elderly humans too. "Old rats are tedious to work with because they get sick a lot and that means they also cost a lot more. But if you're interested in diseases like osteoporosis, they're an essential part of the process."
Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones – sleep and bone regulation
The process of bone breakdown and buildup is affected by our circadian ...
Intermediaries increase corruption
2014-05-27
This news release is available in Spanish.
In reality, an intermediary participates in many, if not most, cases of corruption. However there has been very scarce empirical evidence that illuminates their role in these situations. This is what a researcher at UC3M has analyzed in collaboration with scientists from Florida State University and Southern Methodist University, in Texas (both in the United States). The results of their study, recently published in Experimental Economics, confirm their suspicions: "Our work showed that the number of persons involved in cases ...
Outgrowing emotional egocentricity
2014-05-27
This news release is available in German. Children are more egocentric than adults. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig have demonstrated for the first time that children are also worse at putting themselves in other people's emotional shoes. According to the researchers, the supramarginal gyrus region of the brain must be sufficiently developed in children for them to be able to overcome their egocentric take on the world.
When little Philip rejoices at winning the prize in a game, it is almost impossible for ...
People attribute free will to mind, not soul
2014-05-27
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Across the board, even if they believed in the concept of a soul, people in a new study ascribed free will based on down-to-Earth criteria: Did the actor in question have the capacity to make an intentional and independent choice? The study suggests that while grand metaphysical views of the universe remain common, they have little to do with how people assess each other's behavior.
"I find it relieving to know that whether you believe in a soul or not, or have a religion or not, or an assumption about how the universe works, that ...
HIV can cut and paste in the human genome
2014-05-27
For the first time researchers have succeeded in altering HIV virus particles so that they can simultaneously, as it were, 'cut and paste' in our genome via biological processes. Developed at the Department of Biomedicine at Aarhus University, the technology makes it possible to repair genomes in a new way. It also offers good perspectives for individual treatment of both hereditary diseases and certain viral infections:
"Now we can simultaneously cut out the part of the genome that is broken in sick cells, and patch the gap that arises in the genetic information which ...
'Virtual human' shows that stiff arteries can explain the cause of high blood pressure
2014-05-27
High blood pressure is highly age-related and affects more than 1 billion people worldwide. But doctors can't fully explain the cause of 90 per cent of all cases. A computer model of a "virtual human" suggests that stiff arteries alone are enough to cause high blood pressure.
"Our results suggest that arterial stiffness represents a major therapeutic target. This is contrary to existing models, which typically explain high blood pressure in terms of defective kidney function," says Klas Pettersen, a researcher at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences and first author ...
Why does bacon smell so good? (video)
2014-05-27
WASHINGTON, May 27, 2014 — We all know bacon is delicious, but what is it about cooking bacon that makes it smell so tantalizing? In the American Chemical Society's (ACS') latest Reactions video, the team puts its nose into everyone's favorite breakfast food. We collaborated with the Compound Interest blog to break down the science of that sweet smell. The video is available at http://youtu.be/2P_0HGRWgXw
Subscribe to the series at Reactions YouTube, and follow us on Twitter @ACSreactions to be the first to see our latest videos.
INFORMATION:
The American Chemical ...
Scientists map the worst times of day for people allergic to grass pollen
2014-05-27
Atishoo! Help, there are flowering grasses around, please stay indoors – while your friends enjoy the nice summer weather! Traditionally, people allergic to grass pollen are advised to be aware of high pollen concentrations during the day, and to reduce their outdoor activities during this period.
A new study led by researchers from Aarhus University shows that it is considerably more complicated to avoid grass pollen. Based on a three-year study with intensive measurements at three different locations in Aarhus, they divide the grass pollen season into three periods, ...
Sperm cells are extremely efficient at swimming against a current
2014-05-27
Like salmon traveling upstream to spawn, sperm cells are extremely efficient at swimming against the current, according to research to be published this week.
The discovery, to be published in the journal eLife by researchers at MIT and Cambridge University, may help us to understand how some sperm travel such long distances, through difficult terrain, to reach and fertilize an egg.
Of the hundreds of millions of sperm cells that begin the journey up the oviducts, only a few hardy travelers will ever reach their destination. Not only do the cells have to swim in the ...
Attack is not always the best defense
2014-05-27
Jena (Germany) It is something like the police force of our body: the immune system. It disables intruding pathogens, it dismantles injured tissue and boosts wound healing. In this form of 'self-defense' inflammatory reactions play a decisive role. But sometimes the body's defense mechanism gets out of control and cells or tissues are affected: "Then excessive reactions can occur and illnesses along with them," Prof. Dr. Oliver Werz of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena says. He gives asthma, rheumatism, arteriosclerosis and cancer as examples: "For many of these diseases ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Final day of scientific sessions reveals critical insights for clinical practice at AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting and OTO EXPO
Social adversity and triple-negative breast cancer incidence among black women
Rapid vs standard induction to injectable extended-release buprenorphine
Galvanizing blood vessel cells to expand for organ transplantation
Common hospice medications linked to higher risk of death in people with dementia
SNU researchers develop innovative heating and cooling technology using ‘a single material’ to stay cool in summer and warm in winter without electricity
SNU researchers outline a roadmap for next-generation 2D semiconductor 'gate stack' technology
The fundamental traditional Chinese medicine constitution theory serves as a crucial basis for the development and application of food and medicine homology products
Outfoxed: New research reveals Australia’s rapid red fox invasion
SwRI’s Dr. Chris Thomas named AIAA Associate Fellow
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) funding for research on academic advising experiences of Division I Black/African American student-athletes at minority serving institutions
Johri developing artificial intelligence literacy among undergraduate engineering and technology students
Boston Children’s receives a $35 million donation to accelerate development of therapeutic options for children with brain disorders through the Rosamund Stone Zander and Hansjoerg Wyss Translational
Quantum crystals offer a blueprint for the future of computing and chemistry
Looking beyond speech recognition to evaluate cochlear implants
Tracking infectious disease spread via commuting pattern data
Underweight children cost the NHS as much per child as children with obesity, Oxford study finds.
Wetland plant-fungus combo cleans up ‘forever chemicals’ in a pilot study
Traditional Chinese medicine combined with peginterferon α-2b in chronic hepatitis B
APS and SPR honor Dr. Wendy K. Chung with the 2026 Mary Ellen Avery Neonatal Research Award
The Gabriella Miller Kids First Data Resource Center (Kids First DRC) has launched the Variant Workbench
Yeast survives Martian conditions
Calcium could be key to solving stability issues in sodium-ion batteries
Can smoother surfaces prevent hydrogen embrittlement?
Heart rate changes predict depression treatment success with magnetic brain stimulation
Genetics pioneer transforms global depression research through multi-omics discoveries
MDMA psychiatric applications synthesized: Comprehensive review examines PTSD treatment and emerging therapeutic indications
Psychedelics offer new therapeutic framework for stress-related psychiatric disorders
Brain cell discoveries reshape understanding of psychiatric disorders
Mom’s voice boosts language-center development in preemies’ brains, study finds
[Press-News.org] Using thoughts to control airplanesTUM researchers demonstrate: Brain controlled flight is possible