London, July 30 (ANI): In a bid to cut down the number of car accidents, researchers have found that by attaching electrodes to driver's scalps the response time to apply the brakes can be improved.
Using electroencephalography (EEG), the technology stops the car using the driver's brain signals.
This cut out the time it takes between the intentions to break and physically moving to press the brake pedal and could prevent accidents caused by human error.
A study hooked 18 participants up to an EEG before putting them in a driving simulator to identify the parts of the brain that are most active when braking.
Myoelectric (EMG) activity, which is caused by muscle tension in the lower leg and can be used to detect leg motion before it actually moves to the brake pedal, was also recorded.
Scientists carrying out the study at the Berlin Institute for Technology found that a mind-reading system could detect a driver's intention to brake 130 milliseconds faster than a normal brake response.
This amounts to a reduction in braking distance of 3.66 metres -the length of a compact car - when driving at 62 mph.
Stefan Haufe, who led the study said they were now considering using the technology in a real car.
"Averaged over all potential detection thresholds, a system that uses all available sensors detects emergency situations 130 milliseconds earlier than a system that doesn't use EEG and EMG," the Daily Mail quoted him as saying.
"We can safely say that it is mainly EEG that leads to the early detection.
"We are now considering to test the system online in a real car, however, if such a technology would ever enter a commercial product, it would certainly be used to complement other assistive technology to avoid the consequences of false alarms that could be both annoying and dangerous," he added.
the study has been found in the Journal of Neural Engineering. (ANI)
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