In the distant future, will we be driving self-driving cars, or could we be controlling the cars with our brains? Nissan is studying how to use brain waves and signals to communicate with our cars.

We have seen images of people using this type of technology to steer robots or make different images light up on a screen, but could this really be used to drive cars? Nissan is looking for an answer by exploring this Brain-to-Vehicle (B2V)

technology

Put on your headset

Nissan

states that their “Brain-to-Vehicle technology provides the world's first system for real-time detection and analysis of brain activity relating to driving,” and they are definitely pushing the tech boundaries!

By wearing medical-grade electroencephalography (EEG) caps fully loaded with sensors, brain activity can be detected with enough power to move robotic arms. However, these caps have to be stuck on the user’s head with gel.

This would be a hard sell for the average driver. I don’t think many of us would like to glue a shower cap covered in sensors onto our heads on the way to work. However, less powerful brain waves can be detected with simpler sensors.

According to

MotorTrend

, Lucian Gheorghe, the senior innovation researcher at Nissan in charge of B2V, has developed a new simpler cap. This headset will only have four points of contact that do not need gel. It is about 95% as effective as the medical-grade EEG caps, and it would connect to the vehicle via Bluetooth.

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How can a brain signal change how a car drives?

A brain signal called a motor-related cortical potential, or MRCP, sends a message from the brain only 500 milliseconds before the arm makes a move. The idea behind B2V is to try to figure out what the brain wants and instantly get a message to the vehicle to start the process.

Braking, turning, and accelerating could all be almost instantly activated. The driver would still take all the necessary driving actions, but it would feel extra responsive since the vehicle would have started the process already.

For instance, when driving in manual mode, the steering wheel could start to turn before the driver’s arm even starts moving. One possible wrinkle is that the MRCP signal is not able to differentiate between turning right or turning left. It simply sends a message that the driver wants to turn. Nissan suggests that GPS data, map locations, and other sensors in the vehicle could try to predict which direction the driver wants to turn. This could be a major challenge.

Another brain signal called an error-related potential signal, or ERP, is a signal that our brains send when we encounter something wrong or not expected. Nissan wants to use this signal in autonomous vehicles to transmit the driver’s feelings about driving style to their self-driving car.

Imagine this: Your self-driving car will learn which way you usually drive on certain routes and at certain times of the day. Maybe you always rush home as quickly as possible from work. However, what if one day you just want to take your time? Your brain would send an ERP that you aren’t satisfied with how the car is driving, and the car would then change driving styles, without you having to do anything.

The vehicle could also determine whether the driver was too hot or too cold, and adjust the car’s climate control.

Nissan claims their B2V technology will be “0.2 to 0.5 seconds faster than the average human response time, improving reaction times while being largely imperceptible for the driver.”

MORE: New Technology Will Pull Your Car Over if You're Drowsy at the Wheel

Will this actually happen?

If this sounds too crazy to be true, don’t worry! This technology is nowhere near ready to be used or released.

There are many questions. How safe would this even be? Would drivers want to put on a headset every time they got in their car? What if the driver thought of something dangerous? Would the car just do it? It is truly mind-boggling, and you don’t need a cap full of sensors to confirm that.

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