Mind-Reading Mercedes Concept Straight From Future
by AutoExpert | 7 September, 2021
The 2021 Munich Auto Show is quite dominated by Mercedes, including this interesting Mercedes concept. Germany's largest carmaker showcased production variants of the G-Class luxury sedan and the G-Class AMG performance sedan, as well as the EQG off-road design, to demonstrate what a purely electric vehicle will look like.
At CES last year, a dystopian concept was unveiled that was influenced by James Cameron's sci-fi epic, Avatar. As it recognizes a driver's breathing and heartbeat, Mercedes describes it as a living creature. BCIs (brain-computer interfaces) have been incorporated into Mercedes' Vision AVTR, enabling drivers to operate their cars with their brains.
It will take some time before BCI becomes popular, but Mercedes insists that the tech is no longer science fiction. This includes the use of technology to enable persons with disabilities to become more autonomous.
A future in which activities such as selecting a location on the navigator, changing a radio station, and turning on or off the artificial light can be operated using your mind rather than touchscreens or gesture controls is envisioned by Mercedes.
On display at the Munich Motor Show, a simulation of the new Vision AVTR will exhibit this innovation in its infancy. One minute of calibration and a BCI device is affixed to the user's head to record brainwaves. An entirely digital dash is used as a visual stimulant for the brain, with light dots projected onto it.
Brain waves are analyzed to determine which light points the user is concentrating on and activate the desired function in digital worlds presented on the dash, such as producing wind, growing plants, or changing the day to night mode.
As part of its research and development of brain-computer interface applications in cars, Mercedes-Benz has achieved another milestone in combining humans and machines.