Scientists have come up with a new brain-computer interface reading people's thoughts in real time to correct robotic errors.
This advance may lead to safer self driving cars. Existing brain-computer interfaces need people to train with it and even learn to modulate their thoughts to help the machine understand.
By relying on brain signals called "error-related potentials" (ErrPs) that occur automatically when humans make a mistake or spot someone else making one, the new approach allows even complete novices to control a robot with their minds.
This technology developed by researchers at the Boston University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
It may offer intuitive and instantaneous ways of communicating with machines, for applications as diverse as supervising factory robots to controlling robotic prostheses.
Researchers collected electroencephalography (EEG) data from volunteers as those individuals watched a humanoid robot decide which of two objects to pick up.
This data was analysed using machine-learning algorithms that can detect ErrPs in just 10 to 30 milliseconds.
This means results could be fed back to the robot in real time, allowing it to correct its course midway.
