Drive Wire for November 23, 2016: UC Berkeley Researchers Create a Mind-Controlled Tesla

Today on Drive Wire: Four UC Berkeley researchers have managed to control a Tesla Model S with mind control.

In order to build their "Teslapathic" system, the team used an EEG headset to read whether the person controlling the car was thinking "Stop" or "Go." They would then transmit a radio signal to the car and the Model S would respond with the corresponding action thanks to actuators on the brake and gas pedals.

Thus far, stop and go are the only actions the UC Berkeley team has been able to get the Tesla to do, but the entire system was created in a mere 36 hours. They hope to further develop the technology so, in the future, people can use mind control for mundane tasks in everyday life.

But, we say, forget the mundane—bring on more mind control cars.

That’s it for Drive Wire on November 23rd, 2016. I’m Devin Altieri; thanks for watching, and please check out The Drive for more on the big stories from the transportation world.