The future ain't what it used to be: scientists are running out of time to get Nexus-6 models and Voight-Kampff machines ready for 2019, when the events of Blade Runner will come to pass. But at least they're developing other technologies from our favorite films and TV shows! Nike recently announced Back To The Future shoes (although it's a bummer they don't tie themselves), and now some Swiss scientists are developing a real life Knight Rider car, with a Minority Report twist—the car can read its driver's mind and predict his or her next move!
The car, which is being developed by Nissan and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), will be controlled by a brain-machine interface (BMI) system. EPFL has already designed a BMI that allows wheelchair users to manoeuvre their chairs by thought transference. BMI technology requires extremely high levels of human concentration to work, so scientists are trying to adapt the technology to use statistical analysis to predict a driver's next move and to "evaluate a driver's cognitive state relevant to the driving environment"—specifically by measuring brain activity. Then the cars will know which direction you want to turn...perhaps before even you consciously know...
So how do you feel about a car being hooked up to your brain? Will this blending of driver and vehicular intelligence create a new standard of safety on the roads, or will this put us on our way to Videodrome-esque tumors?
