Nissan has an interesting take on the autonomous driving, they now say that instead of using onboard computers to make calculations, they say instead that they will harness the power of the human mind to send signals to the car interpreting what it’s next move is likely to be. They say this technology will redefine the way people interact with cars. The company has announced this new technology that they are calling Brain-to-vehicle, will make its public debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show in 2018. Now although Nissan is yet to give us the whole schpeel as to how the technology will work they have given us a rough outline.
“When most people think about autonomous driving, they have a very impersonal vision of the future, where humans relinquish control to the machines. Yet B2V technology does the opposite, by using signals from their own brain to make the drive even more exciting and enjoyable,” said Nissan Executive Vice President Daniele Schillaci. “Through Nissan Intelligent Mobility, we are moving people to a better world by delivering more autonomy, more electrification and more connectivity.”
Nissan says that this is technology will come as a result of a research program that they had been conducting that would decode the human brain to predict a driver’s actions and detect discomfort.
Predict: By catching signs that the driver’s brain is about to initiate a movement – such as turning the steering wheel or pushing the accelerator pedal – driver-assist technologies can begin the action more quickly. This can improve reaction times and enhance manual driving.
Detect: By detecting and evaluating driver discomfort, artificial intelligence can change the driving configuration or driving style when in autonomous mode.
Nissan says this technology can also be used to control the environment inside the vehicle. Not just to make the interior acclimate to the person’s mood but also combine with other tech to make augment the reality inside the car so the driver can relax. Nissan says this is first-time technology of this sort has seen the light of day, a device that measures brain wave activity, and then analyses the information that it gets to take actions such as steering wheel or slowing the car – 0.2 to 0.5 seconds faster than the driver, while remaining largely imperceptible.
