Just when we believed we had seen it all, the IAA Mobility 2021, held in Munich, arrived to leave us speechless with new technological innovations from the world’s leading automakers.
This year, Mercedes presented a system that enables their vehicles to read drivers’ minds, allowing certain operations to be performed just by thinking about them!
This is the Vision AVTR, a car with no steering wheel, as the driver can interact with it through a biometric system.
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Its technology is based on a visual perception system and by simply raising the hand, a menu with points of light is projected on a digital screen located on the dashboard.
Operation
Using a brain-computer interface device with portable electrodes attached to the back of the user’s head, the driver can intuitively navigate between different functionalities.
According to Mercedes, the device “measures neural activity in the system in real time, analyzes brain waves and recognizes which lights you are focusing your attention on. The more intense it is, the stronger the neural activity is,” they say. “The device triggers the appropriate function in the vehicle, such as opening a window or activating the air conditioning.”
Instead of a helmet with electrodes, the brand’s structure simply uses electrodes attached to the back of the skull that pick up electrical activity in the brain. This mental activity is analyzed by an artificial intelligence system interpreting your desires. This doesn’t happen automatically, according to Mercedes, it requires a one-minute calibration process.
The Mercedes-Benz Vision AVTR was designed jointly with James Cameron, the director of the film Avatar, and is inspired by it in terms of both design and human-machine connection.
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The IAA Mobility in Munich regains prominence by the 2021 edition after a complete standstill due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event has got off on an exciting kick-off where major breakthroughs are expected.
The Mobility Show will continue until September 12, so everyone attending the event can get a first-hand look at some of the most important launches for the European market.
Written by I Jhonattan González