<p>Scientists have discovered how to control multiple robotic drones using the human brain, an advance that help develop swarms of search and rescue drones that are controlled just by thought.<br /><br /></p>.<p>A controller wears a skull cap outfitted with 128 electrodes wired to a computer. The device records electrical brain activity. If the controller moves a hand or thinks of something, certain areas light up.<br /><br />"I can see that activity from outside. Our goal is to decode that activity to control variables for the robots," said Panagiotis Artemiadis, from the Arizona State University in the US.<br /><br />If the user is thinking about spreading the droned out, we know what part of the brain controls that thought, Artemiadis said. A wireless system sends the thought to the robots.<br /><br />"We have a motion-capture system that knows where the quads are, and we change their distance," he said.<br /><br />Up to four small robots, some of which fly, can be controlled with brain interfaces. To make them move, the controller watches on a monitor and thinks and pictures the drones performing various tasks.<br /><br />"During the last two to three decades there has been a lot of research on single brain/machine interface, where you control a single machine," Artemiadis said.<br /><br />A few years ago, he had the idea to go to a lot of machines. It is part of a trend in robotics and space exploration - instead of building one giant expensive machine or plane or spacecraft, researchers build a lot of little cheap ones.<br /><br />Artemiadis worked with US Air Force pilots. The pilots were sceptical. Their main objection was what would happen if they thought of something else while controlling the drones.<br /><br />"If it is close to lunch and all you can think about it is pizza, it doesn't work. Fatigue and stress also play a part," Artemiadis said.<br /><br />The system has to be calibrated to individual controllers, and it has to be done every day, because brain signals change from day to day, he said.<br /><br />The next step in Artemiadis' research is multiple people controlling multiple robots. In the future, he sees drone swarms performing complex operations, such as search-and-rescue missions. <br /></p>
<p>Scientists have discovered how to control multiple robotic drones using the human brain, an advance that help develop swarms of search and rescue drones that are controlled just by thought.<br /><br /></p>.<p>A controller wears a skull cap outfitted with 128 electrodes wired to a computer. The device records electrical brain activity. If the controller moves a hand or thinks of something, certain areas light up.<br /><br />"I can see that activity from outside. Our goal is to decode that activity to control variables for the robots," said Panagiotis Artemiadis, from the Arizona State University in the US.<br /><br />If the user is thinking about spreading the droned out, we know what part of the brain controls that thought, Artemiadis said. A wireless system sends the thought to the robots.<br /><br />"We have a motion-capture system that knows where the quads are, and we change their distance," he said.<br /><br />Up to four small robots, some of which fly, can be controlled with brain interfaces. To make them move, the controller watches on a monitor and thinks and pictures the drones performing various tasks.<br /><br />"During the last two to three decades there has been a lot of research on single brain/machine interface, where you control a single machine," Artemiadis said.<br /><br />A few years ago, he had the idea to go to a lot of machines. It is part of a trend in robotics and space exploration - instead of building one giant expensive machine or plane or spacecraft, researchers build a lot of little cheap ones.<br /><br />Artemiadis worked with US Air Force pilots. The pilots were sceptical. Their main objection was what would happen if they thought of something else while controlling the drones.<br /><br />"If it is close to lunch and all you can think about it is pizza, it doesn't work. Fatigue and stress also play a part," Artemiadis said.<br /><br />The system has to be calibrated to individual controllers, and it has to be done every day, because brain signals change from day to day, he said.<br /><br />The next step in Artemiadis' research is multiple people controlling multiple robots. In the future, he sees drone swarms performing complex operations, such as search-and-rescue missions. <br /></p>